Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Buildings: Safety

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the government amendments to the Building Safety Act safety regulation system in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill on the duty imposed on the Secretary of State by section 162 of the Building Safety Act 2022 to commission an independent five-yearly review of the regulatory regime; and whether he plans to retain that regulatory regime following the reconfiguration of the Building Safety regulatory system.

Lee Rowley: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Buildings: Safety

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the changes to the Building Safety regulatory system in Amendment 467D made to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, whether the duties imposed on the Regulator set out in the Building Safety Act 2002 S21 and S9(1) to (a) report on certain safety-related matters relating to stairs and ramps, disabled persons escape routes and automatic fire suppression systems and (b) establish a statutory Building Regulation Committee will be retained unamended by the successor body.

Lee Rowley: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Buildings: Safety

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has consulted (a) the Chief Fire Officers Association and (b) Dame Judith Hackitt on the Government amendments relating to the Building Safety Act and the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill.

Lee Rowley: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Buildings: Safety

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he made of the potential impact of the Government's amendments to the Building Safety Act safety regulation system proposed to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill on (a) the existing Building Safety Regulator’s capacity to recruit and retain high quality leaders and staff prior to its replacement and (b) the risk of a reduced pace of inspection and enforcement action during the transition period.

Lee Rowley: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Buildings: Safety

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure an effective and rapid implementation of the Operational Standards Rules for building control authorities published by the Health and Safety Executives and commencing in May 2024.

Lee Rowley: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Affordable Housing: Construction

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many First Homes have been completed.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many First Homes have been commenced.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the total cost is of the First Homes programme.

Rachel Maclean: Data on First Homes starts is published in the Government's 'live tables on affordable housing supply'. The data on starts (for 2021-2022) is incomplete, however, as Homes England does not record starts of First Homes separately and local authorities only provide data on starts on site on a voluntary basis.The early delivery programme is set to conclude this September at a cost of up to £150 million. The main route of First Homes delivery will, however, be through developer contributions, meaning the discounts on First Homes will be funded at no direct cost to central government or local authorities.

Refugees: Ukraine

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will provide a breakdown of how the £150 million of UK-wide funding in the 2023/24 financial year for local authorities and devolved governments to help Ukrainians move into their own homes has been spent and allocated as of 2 June 2023.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps  Department has taken to support local authorities to implement rent deposit and rent guarantor schemes to help displaced Ukrainians to access accommodation in the private rented sector.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on bringing forward the increase of the monthly payment for hosts on the Homes for Ukraine scheme before people have been in the UK for 12 months, and whether such payments will be extended to hosts on the Family Visa Scheme.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure greater consistency in the support provided to Ukrainian refugees and their hosts across the two Visa Schemes; if he will extend the initial £200 interim payment to everyone arriving on the Ukraine Family Scheme in all UK nations; and if he will protect hosts on the Ukraine Family Scheme from increases in council tax bills as a result of hosting additional people.

Felicity Buchan: As announced in December 2022, all Homes for Ukraine sponsors will receive an increased 'thank you' payment of £500 a month once guests have been in the country for over a year. Where sponsorships can no longer continue for the financial year 2023/24, all councils will receive help to house Ukrainians through a one-off pot of government funding worth £150 million. The guidance and breakdown of the £150 million funding by local authority can be accessed here.This money can be used flexibly to support Ukrainians into the private rented sector, amongst other things. For instance it can be used to provide deposits or rent advances, or to offer guarantees.Ukrainians arriving under both the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and the Ukraine Family Scheme have the same entitlement to work, pensions, health provision, education, and access to benefits. These are effective from as soon as a Ukrainian guest has a valid visa and arrives in the UK. Both schemes provide a right to remain for three years.

Teesworks Joint Venture Independent Review

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what set of criteria he plans to use to appoint panellists to the Independent review: Teesworks Joint Venture.

Lee Rowley: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

South Tees Mayoral Development Corporation and Teesworks

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much from the public purse the Government has provided to (a) the South Tees Development Corporation and (b) Teesworks Joint Venture as of 7 June 2023.

Lee Rowley: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Independent Faith Engagement Review

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much the independent faith engagement adviser has been paid each year since 2019; and if he will provide a breakdown of the (a) expenses and (b) other costs to the public purse associated with the post in each of those years.

Dehenna Davison: The department spent a total of £225,175 on the Independent Faith Engagement Review from 2019 to 2023. The department spent £42,245 in financial year 2019-20, £78,447 in 2020-21, £60,656 in 2021-22, £39,557 in 2022-23, and £4,268 in 2023-24. Details of departmental expenditure are also set out regularly on gov.uk.

Local Government: Workplace Pensions

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will introduce regulation changes to protect current Local Government Pension Scheme members from planned changes to the national minimum pension age in April 2028.

Lee Rowley: Announcements will be set out in the usual way.

Business Rates: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much his Department has paid in section 31 grants to Solihull Council to compensate it for non-domestic rate reliefs in each year since 2018.

Lee Rowley: Data on section 31 grants received in compensation for changes to non-domestic rate reliefs, broken down by billing authorities, is available here.

Housing: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding was allocated by his Department to Solihull Council for the new homes bonus grant in the 2022-23 financial year.

Rachel Maclean: Full details of all allocations can be found here.

Property: Databases

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the feasibility of (a) expanding the Unique Property Reference Number system to make it available for the wider property market and (b) encouraging the use of the Unique Property Reference Number system by the wider property market.

Rachel Maclean: The Government has already mandated the use of Unique Property Reference Numbers for gathering and storing address data in government systems which is available for the wider property market to use and benefit from.   We continue to explore a number of digital solutions to create an accessible 21st century residential property market and are developing a detailed plan to take this work forward which will focus on property data.

Housing: Disability

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made on the availability of adapted housing for people with disabilities in Walsall.

Rachel Maclean: DLUHC does not hold data on the availability of adapted housing in Walsall.However, local authorities including Walsall have a statutory duty to provide home adaptations to eligible disabled people, subject to a means test and assessment of need through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG).On 10 May, DLUHC provided each local authority with their allocation of the £573 million funding for the DFG for 2023/24. Walsall received £4,202,771.

Retail Trade: Empty Property

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to proposals for high street rental auctions in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, whether he is taking steps to ensure that communities will be involved in decisions involving the conversion of vacant commercial properties.

Rachel Maclean: High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA) will be a permissive power for local authorities, which they can use alongside other regeneration tools at their discretion. In line with the Government's position on localism, we believe local authorities are uniquely placed to determine what is appropriate in their own area. Local authorities will have robustly considered the needs of the community in the development of local plans and other such regeneration programmes.In the identification of high street in local plans, local authorities will have been through a minimum of two rounds of consultation and involvement of the community in drafting. HRSAs will be designated by local authorities based on their deep knowledge of their area, and with that they will ensure that the needs of their community are met.  Government is consulting on several areas of HSRA policy and we would encourage all stakeholders with an interest in their high street to complete it before the consultation closes on 23 June.

Holiday Accommodation: Change of Use

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to prevent short-term holiday lets from automatically changing use class to C5.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department plans to take to give local authorities flexibility to determine what information they collate for their registration scheme on short-term holiday lets.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether short-term holiday lets have an obligation to arrange rubbish and recycling deliveries.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on short term holiday let registration and licensing.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to give local authorities powers to refuse parking permits for vehicles used by short-term holiday let guests.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to make it his Department's policy that all short-term holiday lets should require a change in use class.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that new build properties are not developed specifically for the short-term holiday lets.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to extend proposals on short-term holiday lets to lets which have a rolling contract of 28 days or less.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that residents are consulted when a dwelling in their area becomes a short-term holiday let.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to enable local authorities to (a) issues fines and (b) revoke registrations for non-compliance with (i) registration and (ii) licence conditions for short term holiday lets.

Rachel Maclean: The two Government consultations on the 'Introduction of a use class for short term lets and associated permitted development rights' and the 'Consultation on a registration scheme for short-term lets in England' closed on 7 June. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department for Culture Media and Sport are in the process of analysing responses for their respective consultations. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Multiple Occupation: Licensing

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether landlords are exempt from applying for a licence from a local authority for a House in Multiple Occupation if only part of the building is occupied by asylum seekers.

Rachel Maclean: Currently all houses in multiple occupations (HMOs) in which 5 or more unrelated people live, or 3 or more in areas with additional licensing, must be licensed, including those occupied by asylum seekers.

Housing: Health

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of poor quality housing on (a) outcomes for people with (i) respiratory and (ii) chronic health conditions and (b) the cost of healthcare provision.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of spending on legal disrepair cases on the prevalence of health conditions caused by poor quality housing.

Rachel Maclean: I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 126650 on 26 January 2023.

Housing: Disability

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 11 May 2023 to Question 183870, on Housing: Disability what data is held centrally on homes that meet the accessible and adaptable design standard.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 11 May 2023 to Question 183870 Housing: Disability, whether his Department plans to require new-build homes to meet the accessible and adaptable design standard.

Lee Rowley: The English Housing Survey collects data on accessibility and adaptations within the home; the most recent adaptations report is published online. New build homes are constructed to meet Building Regulations accessibility standards in force at the time of build; the most recent data on new build home rates was published by ONS on 26 May 2023.

Constituencies: British Nationals Abroad

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to create parliamentary constituencies for British citizens overseas.

Dehenna Davison: No.

Rented Housing: Anti-social Behaviour

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing councils with more power to evict tenants for anti-social behaviour.

Dehenna Davison: Local authorities are already able to de-prioritise perpetrators of anti-social behaviour who apply for social housing. This is part of the existing flexibilities local authorities have to set social housing allocation schemes that best meet local needs.On 27th March 2023, the Government published the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan which can be found here.In that Action Plan, we committed to exploring a 'three strikes and you're out' eviction expectation for all social landlords. After three strikes, the Government thinks it is right that perpetrators of anti-social behaviour face eviction and should be deprioritised for further social housing and will work with the sector to achieve this.Our Renters (Reform) Bill also strengthens powers for private landlords to remove anti-social tenants.

Business Premises: Rents

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on average commercial rents per square metre in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on average commercial rents per square metre in (a) Stockport constituency, (b) Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and (c) Greater Manchester.

Dehenna Davison: The department does not hold data centrally on the average commercial rents per square metre by area.

Cold Weather Payments: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding was allocated by his Department to Solihull Council for cold weather payments in the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24 financial years.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding was allocated by his Department to Enfield Council for cold weather payments in the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24 financial years in real terms.

Felicity Buchan: The Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) 2022-25 is investing up to £500m in funding to 303 local authorities across England, spanning a 3-year period from April 2022 to March 2025. The multi-year funding provides local authorities the resources to offer accommodation, support, and a route off the streets for people sleeping rough all year round.The full allocations of RSI 2022-25 can be found here.

Homelessness

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department issues on the meaning of priority need in the context of tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.

Felicity Buchan: Guidance on priority need is in Chapter 8 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance .

Local Government Finance

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department takes to assess the adequacy of (a) funding and (b) other resources for local authorities.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to Question UIN 184131 on 15 May 2023.

Local Government Finance: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much new burdens funding was allocated to Solihull Council for the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24 financial years.

Lee Rowley: We do not hold this information centrally.

Business Rates: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding was allocated to Solihull Council for the doubling of small business rates grant in the (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23 financial years.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding was given to Solihull Council for the Expanded Retail Discount Grant in the 2022-23 financial year.

Lee Rowley: Solihull Council was given £3,685,053 in 2020-21, £3,680,785 in 2021-22, and £3,616,527 in 2022-23 to fund changes in threshold and the doubling of small business rates relief. It was also given £12,607,702 to fund Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief in the financial year 2022-23. The figure was paid on the basis of the Local Authority forecast cost of the discount and will be reconciled with actual spend in Autumn 2023.

Business Rates: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding was allocated by his Department to Solihull Council for the business rates 2 per cent inflation cap for the (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 financial years.

Lee Rowley: Solihull Council was given £4,700,524 in 2021-22, £10,973,903 in 2022-23, and £20,340,177 in 2023-24 to compensate for loss of income associated with under-indexing the small business multiplier. This covers compensation for:The decisions in 2014-15 and 2015-16 to cap the increase in the small business multiplier at 2%The decision that from 2018-19 the small business multiplier would increase in line with the Consumer Price Index as opposed to the Retail Price IndexThe decisions in 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 to freeze the small business multiplierIn line with usual practice, the 2022-23 and 2023-24 figures were paid on the basis of the Local Authority forecasts. They will be reconciled with actuals in Autumn 2023 and Autumn 2024 respectively.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding his Department has made available to Solihull Council for Council tax support in the (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 financial years.

Lee Rowley: The Department does not normally provide funding specifically for council tax support and it is for individual councils to design schemes and determine the level of funding they wish to use for these purposes. We nevertheless provided councils with an additional £670 million in 2021-22 to reflect the increased cost of providing council tax support as a result of the pandemic. Allocations are set out here.

Independent Living Fund: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding was made available to his Department to Solihull Council for the Independent living fund in the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24 financial years.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much rural services delivery grant funding was made available to Solihull Council in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22 and (d) 2022-23.

Lee Rowley: The Rural Services Delivery Grant is allocated in recognition of the possible additional costs of service delivery in sparsely populated areas. Because Solihull Council is not as sparsely populated as authorities in England who receive this funding, it is not eligible for this grant.For 2022-23, Solihull Council received £768,824 from the Independent Living Fund. As part of the Government's commitment to simplify the grants system, we have rolled the Independent Living Fund into the Social Care Grant from 2023-24 onwards.

Buildings: Insurance

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the median increase in building insurance on residential flats in England in the last 12 months.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of competition within the market for building insurance for residential buildings owned by (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to help decrease the cost of building insurance for leaseholders; and if he will make a statement.

Lee Rowley: The Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) September 2022 report on insurance for multi-occupancy buildings confirmed that premiums have increased, on average, by 125% for the total population of multi-occupancy buildings from 2016-21.The FCA review also found that the number of insurers prepared to underwrite buildings insurance for multi-occupancy buildings has fallen in recent years. The FCA highlighted that the remaining insurers may have limited competitive incentives, possibly resulting in higher prices for customers. Issues regarding competition in the insurance sector should be reported to the FCA and Competition and Markets Authority.The Government is taking steps to ensure leaseholder insurance costs are fairer, and more transparent.The insurance industry is working on a potential scheme to bring down the most extreme premium increases in buildings with identified fire safety issues later this summer, which the Government is monitoring closely.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes: Eligibility

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department issues on the criteria residents need to satisfy to qualify for the over-65 discount scheme for a reduction in council tax operated by local authorities.

Lee Rowley: While local council tax support schemes are administered by local authorities, the Government sets out the circumstances in which pensioners are eligible for a reduction in council tax in The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 Regulations. These Regulations are updated annually.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food: Origin Marking

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department has allocated to the promotion of UK geographic indication products; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Spencer: It is the responsibility of producers and retailers of geographical indication (GI) protected products to ensure consumers recognise their protected status, primarily achieved through display of the UK GI logo on labels. While there is no specific budget allocated to the promotion of UK-produced GI products, we will continue to celebrate them where appropriate in Government communications as we aim to encourage consumers to ‘look for the UK GI logo’. We also champion our GIs to other countries, particularly through new and existing trade deals.

Food: Origin Marking

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the number of UK products that (a) hold and (b) have been granted (i) protected food name and (ii) geographical indication status in the European Union in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Spencer: Data on products protected under the EU Geographical Indication schemes is published by the EU on https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety-and-quality/certification/quality-labels/geographical-indications-register/. 22 UK-produced GI products were protected under the EU schemes in the last 10 years: 1 in 2013, 3 in 2014, 2 in 2015, 3 in 2016, 8 in 2017, 2 in 2018, 2 in 2019, and 1 in 2022. ‘Protected food names’ is a common/interchangeable term for Geographical Indications.

Food: Origin Marking

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the number of producers that produce products that are registered under the UK Geographical Indication scheme that also have UK Accreditation Service certification.

Mark Spencer: United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accreditation is a requirement of Control Bodies wishing to provide verification services to GI producers. We are not aware of any producers of products registered under the UK’s GI schemes that also have UKAS accreditation to provide verification services.

Food: Origin Marking

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to inspect producers of UK products with UK Geographical Indication scheme status; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Spencer: Registration of a product name under the UK GI schemes means any product sold or marketed under that name in GB must come from a verified producer. Verification involves inspection of the producer’s processes and product to ensure compliance with the registered specification. For GI products produced in the UK, maintaining their verification is a responsibility of producers and is secured from HMRC in the case of GI spirit drinks, from the Food Standards Agency in the case of wines, and in the case of agri-food products from either a Local Authority (typically their Trading Standards function) or from a commercial Control Body accredited to provide services by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). GIs produced outside of the UK must be verified in their country of production. Defra, as Competent Authority for the operation of the GI schemes, has no role in assigning verification status and there are no plans for direct inspection of producers.

Food: Origin Marking

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish a list of verified producers of products with UK geographical indication status.

Mark Spencer: 92 UK produced products are protected as Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG), collectively referred to as ‘GI products’ These are protected under the UK GI schemes (providing protection in GB) or/and the EU GI schemes (providing protection in EU/NI). All producers of GI products in the UK are required to be verified as compliant with the registered specification in order to use the registered name, and there is a duty to notify Defra of their verification status. HMRC publish the verification status of spirit drinks GI producers, but whilst we recognise the potential benefits of better-informed consumers and retailers, Defra does not currently publish the data for wine or agri-food GI producers and there are no plans to do so. Products produced outside the UK and registered on the UK GI schemes must be verified in their own country, who may choose to publish lists of their verified producers domestically.

Livestock: Animal Welfare

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish a consultation on the use of cages for farmed animals.

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on the Action Plan for Animal Welfare; and when she plans to publish a consultation on the keeping of caged farmed animals.

Mark Spencer: We have delivered an ambitious legislative programme since the publication of the Action Plan, which will deliver significant improvements for animals in the UK and abroad. We are firmly committed to maintaining our strong track record on animal welfare and to delivering continued improvements, both in the course of this Parliament and beyond. Our recent announcement on delivering the measures in the Kept Animals Bill through single measure Bills will help us to deliver two further commitments in the plan, including the ban on live exports. These are our key priorities. We do not consider the time is right to consult on cage reforms, being mindful of the challenges the sectors are facing. The market is already driving the move away from using cages for laying hen production. The proportion of eggs that come from caged hens has steadily decreased from 47% of total throughput in Q4 2017, to 21% in Q1 2023. We continue to work with the sector to maintain and enhance our high standards. The Government’s animal welfare priorities for its Animal Health and Welfare Pathway include supporting producers to transition away from confinement systems.

Beef: Australia

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the impact on the environment of the (a) production and (b) sale of beef resulting from the Australia-UK free trade agreement.

Mark Spencer: The Impact Assessment of the UK-Australia Free Trade Argument included an assessment of the potential environmental impact of the agreement. The Impact Assessment is available at gov.uk. We continue to uphold our high environmental standards in our Free Trade Agreements and we are proud of the ambitious environment chapter agreed between the UK and Australia which affirms our shared commitment to the Paris Agreement and to strengthen cooperation on a range of environmental issues.

Marine Animals: Fishing Catches

Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that fishers meet the mandatory requirement under their fishing vessel licence conditions to report any bycatch of marine mammals to the Marine Management Organisation within 48 hours.

Mark Spencer: The Government recognises that accidental bycatch in fisheries is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as cetaceans, and we remain fully committed to tackling this issue. The UK introduced new rules in 2021 making it a mandatory requirement under fishing vessel licence conditions for fishers to report any marine mammal bycatch to the MMO. On the introduction of this requirement, communications were sent out by Defra, the Devolved Administrations and the MMO to ensure that industry understood the new obligations. Responsibility for enforcing licence conditions in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the Devolved Administrations.

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Trudy Harrison: The Government considers that the Dangerous Dog Act 1991 plays an important part in our overall approach to tackling dangerous dogs and protecting the public. We have established a Responsible Dog Ownership working group involving the police, local authorities and other key stakeholders to consider all aspects of tackling irresponsible dog ownership. The working group is considering improved data collection and reporting, dog training, consistency of enforcement practices and education and communications to encourage responsible dog ownership. Recommendations are expected later this year.

Biodiversity

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made on the effectiveness of biodiversity net gain and nutrient credits.

Trudy Harrison: Nutrient CreditsGovernment is committed to delivering sustainable development in areas impacted by nutrient neutrality advice and supporting local authorities and developers to identify suitable mitigation opportunities. Several catchments have already had successful mitigation schemes operated by local authorities or private organisations. The first credits from Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme have now been sold in the Tees and Cleveland Coast catchment, providing mitigation to unlock housing. Further credits will be made available in Tees this year and work is underway to identify suitable projects in other catchments with high housing demand. To further support local nutrient mitigation schemes, DLUHC held a Call for Evidence and Expressions of Interest for funding which closed recently, and funding decisions will be made as soon as possible.BNGMandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG), introduced in the Environment Act (2021), has not yet commenced. Government intends to commence the biodiversity net gain regime for most major development granted planning permission under the Town and Country Planning Act from November 2023, small sites from April 2024, and Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects in 2025.

Rural Areas: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has has discussion with Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland on the provision of additional mental support for older people and families living in rural areas.

Trudy Harrison: We are not aware of any discussions having taken place on the provision of additional mental support for older people and families living in rural areas between Defra officials and their NI counterparts in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland. Both rural policy and healthcare are devolved issues.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Taiwan

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has had discussions with representatives of the Government of Taiwan in each of the last five years.

Mark Spencer: The UK has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan but a strong, unofficial relationship, based on deep and growing ties in a wide range of areas, underpinned by shared democratic values. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has had discussions with representatives of the Taiwan administration in years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 on agri-food matters.

Dairy Farming

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the viability of the dairy industry.

Mark Spencer: We recognise that the dairy industry has recently faced a range of challenges including the impact of Covid-19 and the increase in input costs arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, we have a resilient and dynamic dairy sector and have acted to support it in a number of ways. This includes the introduction of advance Basic Payment Scheme payments and support for an industry approach on the use of urea fertilisers. We have also recently announced a £1m bespoke export support fund for the dairy sector, with a particular focus on support for SMEs. Following the supply chain fairness review we will shortly be laying regulations on contractual regulation in the dairy sector.We continue to monitor the dairy market and to work closely with key sector stakeholders.

Ragwort: Weed Control

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to provide guidance to local authorities on the control of ragwort.

Mark Spencer: There are no plans to issue Local Authorities with guidance. The Government Code of Practice on How to Prevent the Spread of Ragwort supports the public by providing guidance on the most appropriate means of ragwort control, taking into account both animal welfare and environmental considerations.

UK Internal Trade: Labelling

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2023 to Question 186806 on UK Internal Trade: Labelling, if he will provide the legal basis for the introduction of Not for EU labelling in Great Britain.

Mark Spencer: The legal basis for the “Not for EU” label requirements in Great Britain, confirmed in the Windsor Framework Command Paper, will be set out in due course, following consultation with the Scottish and Welsh governments. This requirement is planned to come into force in October 2024.

Tuberculosis: Screening

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an estimate of the levels of tuberculosis testing taking place across the UK.

Mark Spencer: Defra publishes official national statistics on tuberculosis in cattle (i.e. bovine TB) in Great Britain on a quarterly basis. These include, among other headline statistics, the actual numbers (not estimates) of TB tests performed in cattle herds and on individual animals. The latest quarterly release of these national statistics was published on 8 March and contained data up to the end of 2022. This is publicly available at GOV.UK. Specifically, the monthly and annual numbers of all types of cattle TB tests, broken down by country of GB and by bovine TB risk regions of England and Wales, are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1140731/GB_bTB_Statistics_by_Country_and_Area_08mar23.ods For a county-by-county breakdown of the monthly and annual numbers of TB tests performed on cattle please go to: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/tuberculosis-tb-in-cattle-in-great-britain The next quarterly set of the national bovine TB statistics for GB is scheduled to be released on 14 June. Bovine TB statistics for Northern Ireland are compiled separately by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland and can be downloaded from the following link: https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/tuberculosis-statistics-northern-ireland

Agriculture: Land

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect agricultural land from development that reduces the availability of land for food production.

Trudy Harrison: The National Planning Policy Framework sets out clearly that local planning authorities should consider all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, when making plans or taking decisions on new development proposals. Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, planning authorities should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality. Planning Practice Guidance also sets out a preference for the use of lower quality agricultural land.In the National Planning Policy Framework consultation, published in December 2022, the government consulted on a change that will ensure that food production on high value farmland is adequately weighted in the planning process. Government will respond to the consultation in due course.

Camping Sites

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to tenable wild camping along National Trails.

Trudy Harrison: Permissive wild camping is a matter for landowners along each National Trail. We have no plans to introduce or expand wild camping rights along National Trails centrally.

Countryside: Hostels

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will hold discussion with the Youth Hostels Association on implementation of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.

Trudy Harrison: We engage regularly with the Youth Hostels Association (YHA) on relevant policy areas. For example, YHA are represented at our Access and Engagement Forum, where we discuss implementation of the Environmental Improvement Plan, such as the new commitment for everyone to live within 15 minutes of a green or blue space.

Highly Protected Marine Areas Review

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to implement the recommendations of the Benyon review Into Highly Protected Marine Areas.

Trudy Harrison: The Government confirmed earlier this year that the first three Highly Protected Marine Areas in English Waters will be designated before 6th of July 2023 and further sites will be identified by the autumn.

Fires: Temperature

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the potential for an extremely hot and dry summer season in 2023, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the risk of wildfires; and when the findings of her Department’s research into the fire and environmental risks of sky lanterns and disposable BBQs will be published.

Trudy Harrison: The Government has a key role to play in making our natural landscapes resilient to the risks posed by wildfire. We are working with Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Park Authorities and other Government departments to promote a series of guidance videos to educate users about travelling to and spending time outdoors safely in the wider countryside. This includes an updated Countryside Code which advises not to have barbecues or fires. In 2021 we supported the development of a new accredited training programme, designed to consolidate knowledge, skills and understanding of vegetation fires including wildfire incidents. Within the first two years more than 800 prevention and response modules have been completed by public and private land managers. The Government has committed further funding for the next two years and we continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders including land managers, the Forestry Commission, NFU, ENGOs and the National Fire Chiefs Council to embed this training across England, and to identify and respond to further training requirements. Research into the environmental impacts of single use barbecues and sky lanterns concluded in March. We are currently considering next steps which we aim to finalise soon.

Horticulture: Peat

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April to Question 174455 on Horticulture: Peat, what guidance her Department issues on whether constituted allotment associations are professional growers with respect to the ban on peat based products and the delayed timeline for removal of peat from professional growing operations.

Trudy Harrison: The Government proposes to restrict and ultimately ban the sale of peat and peat-containing products used in horticulture in England by 2030 with restrictions on professional use after 2026. The purpose of the proposed technical exemptions will be to allow time for professional growers, operating on a commercial basis, to overcome technical barriers to adopting peat-free growing media. Whether an organisation is operating on a professional, and therefore commercial, basis will be a matter for individual organisations to assess.

Dangerous Dogs

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to review (a) the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and (b) breed-specific legislation.

Trudy Harrison: We currently have no plans to review the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 or breed-specific legislation. We have established a Responsible Dog Ownership working group involving the police, local authorities, and other key stakeholders to consider all aspects of tackling irresponsible dog ownership. The working group is considering improved data collection and reporting, dog training, consistency of enforcement practices and education and communications to encourage responsible dog ownership. Recommendations are expected later this year.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made on developing a vaccine for cattle against Bovine Tuberculosis.

Mark Spencer: Developing a deployable cattle vaccine is one of the Government’s top priorities.Defra aims to have a deployable cattle TB vaccine (CattleBCG) in the next few years. In 2021, world-leading cattle TB vaccination field trials began as a result of amajor breakthrough by government scientists on the development of a new DIVAskin test to Detect Infected among Vaccinated Animals. The UK is closer to being able to vaccinate cattle across England and Wales than we have ever been before but there is still a lot of work to do. Deployment relies on the success of the field trials, achieving Marketing Authorisations from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (for both CattleBCG and the new DIVA skin test), gaining international recognition for both products, an IT system to record and trace vaccinates and acceptance of vaccination from across the range of stakeholders. Close partnership working with industry is also an essential component of the TB vaccine programme. A Government-industry working group has been established to co-design initial deployment policy proposals. These proposals will then be further developed with wider stakeholders before going to public consultation. Vaccinating cattle against TB will be a valuable addition to the measures available to achieve bovine TB eradication but will not replace existing control measures. Maintaining biosecurity measures on farm, avoiding risky movements of cattle, and complying with TB testing protocols remain as important as ever in the fight against bovine TB.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made on her Department's 25 year plan to eradicate bovine tuberculosis.

Mark Spencer: Defra is driving forward an ambitious strategy to eradicate bovine TB in England, which includes a range of evidence-led interventions to tackle the disease in both cattle and wildlife. Our comprehensive strategy includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, introducing new help for herd owners to improve biosecurity measures on farms and to help manage down the risk of bringing the disease into their herds., and supporting the deployment of badger vaccination Working with our TB Partnership stakeholder group, we’re currently developing a policy proposal for a targeted approach to future wildlife control increasing local ownership in delivering TB against a holistic strategy. This will include a provision for culling in the worst affected areas and where the epidemiological evidence points to an ongoing role of badgers in the disease. Developing new and better tools is an important part of our programme of work. We continue to fund major research, including on cattle vaccination and improved diagnostics. That funding has already resulted in a major breakthrough by APHA in developing a test that can differentiate TB-infected among vaccinated cattle (a DIVA test). World-leading BCG vaccination trials in cattle began in England and Wales in June 2021. Our aim is to have a deployable TB vaccine for cattle within the next few years.

Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the Leader of the House on the progression of single-issue Bills to take forward the measures previously contained in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill.

Mark Spencer: We will be taking forward measures in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill individually through other means during the remainder of this Parliament. These measures include three manifesto commitments, which we remain fully committed to delivering. The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Leader of the House about our legislative programme and other matters. The Leader of the House will set out parliamentary business in the usual way.

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an estimate of the cost of border control posts her Department plans to erect to inspect goods coming from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

Mark Spencer: We have committed to providing unfettered access for Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods to the Great Britain market and have enshrined these protections in law. This means Qualifying Northern Ireland goods, except for a small subset such as those subject to international obligations, will face no new checks and controls. We made clear in the draft Border Target Operating Model that Irish goods will be subject to checks when moving directly from Ireland to Great Britain. The Government is rightly engaging with the Welsh and Scottish Governments to ensure appropriate infrastructure is in place on the west coast to support these movements.

Import Controls: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what exemptions from inspections at control posts proposed in the draft Border Target Operating Model she plans for goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain; and what information will be required from Northern Ireland firms to qualify for such exemptions.

Mark Spencer: The UK Government remains committed to ensuring unfettered access for Northern Ireland traders to the Great Britain market. These arrangements will be enshrined and further strengthened in domestic legislation, avoiding burdens for Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods on both direct Northern Ireland-Great Britain and indirect Northern Ireland-Ireland-Great Britain routes. Except for a small subset of goods such as those subject to international obligations, this means they will face no new checks and controls, as has been the case since January 2021. The draft Border Target Operating Model makes clear that Ireland/EU goods will face new checks and controls when moving from Irish ports directly to Great Britain.

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how may border posts her Department plans to erect  to inspect movements of goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

Mark Spencer: We have committed to providing unfettered access for Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods to the Great Britain market and have enshrined these protections in law. This means Qualifying Northern Ireland goods, except for a small subset such as those subject to international obligations, will face no new checks and controls. We made clear in the draft Border Target Operating Model that Irish goods will be subject to checks when moving directly from Ireland to Great Britain. The Government is rightly engaging with the Welsh and Scottish Governments to ensure appropriate infrastructure is in place on the west coast to support these movements.

Import Controls: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Office on the consultation documents for  the draft Border Target Operating Model.

Mark Spencer: Officials from NIO, NI Exec and DAERA have been consulted regularly on the TOM as it has developed to ensure compatibility with the Windsor Framework.

Fishing Gear: Plastics

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to create an extended producer responsibility scheme for fishing gear in order to reduce global ocean plastic.

Mark Spencer: The UK is committed to protecting the marine environment from all human-induced stressors, including marine litter such as abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). We are exploring methods to recycle and reuse ALDFG as well as end of life gear at ports and aquaculture farms with the intention of moving the sector towards a circular economy model. This involves assessing all potential options and considering proportionality and value for money. We will consult on the most appropriate solution to managing end of life fishing gear. In addition the UK is also working collaboratively at the International Maritime Organisation to further address actions that have been identified under its 2018 Action Plan and 2021 Strategy on marine plastic litter from ships, in particular ALDFG.

Environment Agency and Natural England

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with her Cabinet colleagues to ensure the service provided by (a) the Environment Agency and (b) Natural England meets the requirements of UK businesses in the context of applications by those businesses for (i) planning permission and (ii) permits.

Rebecca Pow: Defra works regularly with other Departments (such as the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities), alongside our own arm's-length bodies, to keep permitting services and their regulations under review to ensure that the service provided best meets the requirements of UK businesses whilst upholding environmental protections. We also work closely with them on the role of our arm's-length bodies in the planning system, including as part of the NSIP Reform Action Plan. Defra regularly monitors Environment Agency and Natural England performance to ensure there is a high-quality service provided to all applicants of planning and permitting services. The Environment Agency and Natural England both have customer service commitments which are available on gov.uk.

Cabinet Office

Military Decorations

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make a comparative assessment of the criteria for a National Defence Medal used by [a] Australia, [b] New Zealand and [c] Canada; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing such a medal for those who serve in the UK armed forces.

Johnny Mercer: Medals in the UK honours system are not given for Service alone. There are, therefore, no current plans to introduce a National Defence Medal. This should not be seen as a reflection of the value placed on the service given.

Blood: Contamination

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will set out the timetable for the payment of compensation for people affected by infected blood.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the Honourable Lady to the statement I made in the House on 19 April 2023, following the publication of Sir Brian Langstaff’s second interim report.

Cabinet Office: Helicopters

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Table 2 of the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report 2020-21, published in April 2023, how many of the 90 domestic flights for which his Department was responsible were undertaken by helicopter.in financial year 2020-21.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many domestic flights were undertaken by his Department in financial years (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23; and how many of those flights were by helicopter in each of those years.

Alex Burghart: The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. Comprehensive details of Senior Officials’ Business Expenses, encompassing domestic flights are available on GOV.UK.

Government Departments: Apprentices

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June to Question 186376 on Government Departments: Apprentices, if he will provide a breakdown by Department of the percentage change in digital, data and technology apprenticeships between October 2021 and December 2022.

Alex Burghart: Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) apprenticeships are a way to gain industry standard qualifications whilst working full time in a salaried DDaT role in the Civil Service. During their programme, apprentices receive training from an apprenticeship provider in their chosen field, and apply their emerging knowledge and skills to their full time role as a DDaT professional. The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) is working with departments and commercial teams to address barriers to fully utilising the apprentice levy, including through increasing apprentice provider choice. We have also grown our early talent offers. CDDO is now in the process of building a cross-government digital apprenticeship programme ‘Tech Track’ which aims to upskill existing Civil Servants into the DDaT profession through apprenticeships, targeting 350-500 roles in its first year from Q1 2024. Apprentice numbers regularly fluctuate year to year as apprentices begin and finish their courses at different stages throughout the year. External factors play a significant role in decisions to invest in apprenticeships. These include the impact of Covid-19 on recruitment and operation of apprenticeships, and proposed reductions to overall Civil Service headcount, prompting departments to prioritise fully developed staff. Changes to the recruitment of apprentices will not be reflected in the number of apprentices in departments until the following year. Data provided by the Civil Service Apprenticeship Unit (CSAU) shows that, between September 2021 and December 2022, the number of apprentices fluctuated as per the below table: DepartmentOn programme Apprentices September 2021On programme Apprentices December 2022Percentage ChangeMinistry of Justice2221000%Ministry of Defence39116197%Department for International Trade12100%Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs71271%Department for Education202315%United Kingdom Statistics Authority91011%Attorney General's Departments110%Department for Work and Pensions169163-4%Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office1512-20%Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (and former partners)7053-24%National Crime Agency43-25%Cabinet Office3523-34%Competition and Markets Authority21-50%Department For Digital Culture Media And Sport42-50%HM Revenue and Customs248117-52%Home Office8941-54%Department for Transport5322-58%Department of Health and Social Care3413-62%Charity Commission3- Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities-1

Refugees: Afghanistan

Jessica Morden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings the Minister for Veterans Affairs has with Ministers responsible for Afghan schemes since 2 February 2023.

Johnny Mercer: I refer the Member for Newport East to the answer given to the Right Honourable Member for Wentworth and Dearne on 16th May 2023 (184567).

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to reply to the letters of 21 March and 24 April 2023 from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare about Chinese surveillance technology on behalf of his constituent Andy Clark.

Alex Burghart: A response to the Honourable Member’s constituent, Andy Clark, has been issued and a copy will be deposited in the House of Commons Library.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many quangos have been (a) abolished and (b) wound down since 2010, and if he will list them.

Jeremy Quin: The Cabinet Office classifies a group of central government public bodies as arms-length bodies (ALBs), sometimes referred to as 'quangos'. These include Non-Ministerial Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. As of 2023, there are 308 classified ALBs, compared to 832 in 2009. This decrease is due to successive government efforts resulting in the closures of bodies, mergers of two or more bodies together, and classification changes that removed bodies from having ALB status (whilst still remaining operational). The 2010-15 Public Bodies Reform Programme drove the most significant change in this period, reducing the number of public bodies by over 290 through abolishing more than 190 and merging over 165 into fewer than 70. A list of all the bodies reformed (including those which were abolished and wound down) as a result of the Public Bodies Reform Programme 2010-15 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-bodies-2015.

Queen Elizabeth II: Monuments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has plans for a permanent memorial to Queen Elizabeth II.

Jeremy Quin: The Government is working with the Royal Household on the approach to commemorating Queen Elizabeth II’s life and legacy, which will include any planning and development of a permanent memorial. Further information and a public announcement will be made in due course.

UK Commission on Covid Commemoration

Peter Dowd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to publish the (a) UK Commission on Covid Commemoration's report and (b) its response to that report.

Alex Burghart: The Government is grateful to the Commission for its work. We will publish the Commission’s report and our response in due course. It is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on our society and it is important for the Government to fully consider the Commission’s report and how this period should be marked and remembered.

Food: Prices

Andrew Western: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the impact of food inflation on women with low incomes and children under the age of four years old.

Jeremy Quin: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman Parliamentary Question of 2 June is attached. UK Statistics Authority  (pdf, 138.0KB)

Boris Johnson

Holly Lynch: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the nature was of the security breach that resulted in the Rt Hon Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip being advised to keep his phone turned off from April 2021 onwards.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the Hon Member to the correspondence from the then Independent Adviser for Ministerial Interests to the then Prime Minister of 17 December 2021, which can be found on gov.uk. As has been the case under successive Administrations, the Government does not comment on security matters.

Department for Education

Children in Care: Missing Persons

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children went missing from care in each of the last five years; how many incidents there were; and what proportion of missing children were subsequently found.

Claire Coutinho: The department published bold and ambitious plans to reform children’s social care on the 2 February 2023 through ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’. It sets out how the department will help families overcome challenges, keep children safe, and make sure children in care have stable loving homes, long-term loving relationships, and opportunities for a good life.Missing incident are always deeply concerning. The vast majority, 90%, of incidents where a child reportedly goes missing last for 2 days or less. Figures on the number of children looked after who went missing from care, including the number of missing incidents, and those who are still missing on 31 March, were published for the year ending 31 March 2018 to the year ending 31 March 2022 in the table ‘Official Statistics - CLA who were missing from placement’ in the annual ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions, 2022’ statistical release. The table is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c7b14397-1e84-48d2-7c2b-08db63adc612.Missing incidents were reported for 12,150 of CLA (11%) in 2022. There were 76,890 missing incidents. The number of children still missing from placement at 31 March was 220. A child may have had multiple missing incidents during a year that may have been resolved, only to conclude with a further incident that results in the child being missing again on 31 March.

Childcare

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the seriousness of the barrier posed by childcare for people pursuing a career in scientific research.

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of childcare responsibilities on the numbers of people pursuing careers in scientific research.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of classifying postgraduate stipends as income for the purposes of providing free childcare support eligibility for full-time researchers.

Claire Coutinho: The department knows that for families with younger children, childcare costs are often a significant part of their household expenditure, which is why we are committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare.The department is removing one of the biggest barriers to parents working by vastly increasing the amount of free childcare that working families can access. Over £4.1 billion will be provided by 2027/28 to fund 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for working parents with children aged nine months to three years in England. This new offer will empower parents, allowing them to progress their careers and support their families. The department will invest £204 million in 2023/24 to uplift the rates for existing entitlements, rising to £288 million in 2024/25, with further uplifts beyond this.We believe all parents should have access to childcare before and after the school day to help them work. That is why we are also launching a new national wraparound childcare pilot scheme. A total of £289 million will be provided in start-up funding to enable schools and local areas to test flexible ways of providing childcare. This will include, for example, exploring models such as partnerships between schools and working with private providers on-site. The department expects that this means most schools will have built up the demand to be able to deliver their own before and after school provision (8am-6pm) by September 2026.Our proposals in the Spring Statement represent the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. By 2027/28, this Government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping families with young children with their childcare costs.Postgraduate stipends are not classified as income for tax purposes by HM Revenue and Customs, meaning that neither PhD students, nor their university, pay income tax or National Insurance Contributions on their stipend. Because the stipend is not income from work, PhD students are therefore not eligible for free childcare support.

Schools: Inspections

Anthony Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review Ofsted's inspection (a) framework and (b) practices.

Anthony Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to monitor the impact of Ofsted inspections on teachers' (a) mental wellbeing and (b) physical health.

Anthony Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring Ofsted to disclose the evidence on which it bases its decisions.

Nick Gibb: Ofsted, as part of the wider school accountability system, has been central to the Department’s success in raising school standards. His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, is committed to ensuring a high quality inspection system that works for pupils, teachers, headteachers and parents. As part of this, Ofsted is continuing to evolve and build teachers’ and headteachers’ confidence in inspection. It is right that the system responds where concerns arise, and the Department welcomes Ofsted’s announcement today of plans to make a series of improvements.Supporting the mental and physical health of school staff is crucial to the Department’s commitment to help create a supportive culture in schools and to encourage teacher retention. The Department is working proactively with the sector to understand the drivers behind workload and wellbeing issues, and to improve policies and interventions. The Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, published by the Department, sets out commitments from Government, Ofsted, and schools and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff. The Charter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter. The Department is also funding the UK charity, Education Support, to provide professional supervision and counselling to headteachers. Over 1,000 headteachers have benefitted from the support. Today, the Department has announced the programme’s expansion by doubling the number of places available this year, so that more headteachers can have access to this valuable support.Our thoughts are with Ruth Perry’s family, friends and colleagues at this distressing time. The Secretary of State for Education and officials have been meeting with Ruth’s family and colleagues to talk about and understand Ruth’s experience. The Department has committed to continuing its work on improving the way we inspect schools with Ofsted and the family of Ruth Perry, following her tragic death.As matters concerning Ofsted’s framework and inspection practice are for the Chief Inspector, I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to ensure that the Independent Advisory Panel for the DfE Review of the RSHE Statutory Guidance engages adequately with (a) schools and (b) parents as set out in the terms of reference published on 31 May 2023, in the context of the announcement that it will conclude its work by September 2023 and of the school summer holidays which will take place from late July to September.

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the terms of reference entitled Terms of Reference: Independent Advisory Panel to inform the DfE Review of the RSHE Statutory Guidance, published on 31 May 2023, whether the independent advisory panel will be restricted to advising only on age restrictions for each topic.

Nick Gibb: The Department is providing dedicated secretariat support to service all aspects of the Panel’s work, including the identification of further experts and stakeholders for the Panel to engage with. The Department expects the Panel to report back regularly.The Department expects that any engagement with schools undertaken by the Panel will be prioritised to ensure relevant activity takes place before the school holidays. The Department has already engaged with parent groups as part of the review and will facilitate their engagement with the Panel.The terms of reference stipulate that the Panel will identify the topics within the relationships, sex and health education curriculum which would benefit from age limits. The Panel will bring together expertise on health, teaching, curriculum development, and safeguarding. It will advise on the application of suitable age limits for some topics to ensure pupils are protected from inappropriate concepts they are too young to understand. In doing so, it will draw on wider expertise on specific matters. The Panel will be independent and make its own recommendations to the Secretary of State for Education on age restrictions, including whether some topics are unsuitable. It will be for the Panel to determine what topics they wish to look at and whether they deem further work is necessary.

Schools: Ventilation

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of ventilation in schools at reducing the risk of covid-19 transmission.

Nick Gibb: Maintaining good ventilation creates a healthy indoor environment for staff and pupils and helps to improve alertness and concentration. Scientific evidence also shows that letting fresh air into indoor spaces can help remove virus particles and reduce the risk of respiratory illness, including COVID-19, flu, and Strep A. Evidence from Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) demonstrates that CO2 monitoring is an effective method of identifying poor ventilation in multi occupant spaces. This is why the Department provided over 380,000 CO2 monitors to cover approximately 50% of teaching spaces in England during the height of the pandemic through the first phase of the ventilation programme. The Department has since provided a further 320,000 CO2 monitors to allow all eligible settings to have an assigned monitor for every teaching and childcare space.In addition to CO2 monitors, the Department has provided over 9,000 air cleaning units (ACUs) to over 1,300 settings that identified rooms with sustained high CO2 readings. These units filter pollen, dust and microorganisms, including particles containing the COVID-19 and influenza virus, removing much of it from the air. The use of ACUs in poorly ventilated spaces is backed by SAGE’s Environmental Modelling Group (EMG) which advised that ACUs have limited benefit in spaces that are already adequately ventilated and should only be considered where the ventilation is inadequate and cannot be easily improved.Maintaining adequate ventilation ultimately remains the responsibility of individual settings. The Department has recently published guidance to enable education settings to make the most out of their devices, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.

Schools: Finance

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding allocations her Department provides for schools outside the voluntary aided and state sector.

Nick Gibb: The Department allocates various funding streams in respect of pupils of compulsory school age (5-16) in schools outside the voluntary aided and state sector. Some of these streams also apply to pupils aged above 16. For the purposes of this response, maintained schools, academies (including free schools), and community technical colleges are considered to be part of the state sector. Where funding is provided to schools outside the state sector, it is predominantly provided to non-maintained special schools (NMSS) and, in some cases, to independent schools in respect of pupils for whom a Local Authority pay full tuition fees.High needs place funding is allocated to non-maintained special schools (NMSS) directly by the Department and paid at £10,000 per place. Further details on high needs place funding is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-allocated-place-numbers. The total place funding for NMSS for the 2022/23 academic year was £38 million. Local Authorities also spend a portion of their high needs block allocations on placements in NMSS and independent schools. Further detail at Local Authority level is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/section-251-materials.The Pupil Premium grant provides additional funding for NMSS for raising the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities to help them reach their potential, and provides support for pupils with parents in the regular armed forces. The Pupil Premium grant is also provided for eligible pupils in independent schools, where the Local Authority pays full tuition fees. Allocations are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2023-to-2024.The Department provides funding for tutoring through the National Tutoring Programme. It is provided to NMSS, and to Local Authorities for eligible pupils in independent special schools, where the Local Authority pays full tuition fees. Allocations are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tutoring-programme-ntp-allocations-for-2023-to-2024-academic-year.The PE and Sport Premium is a ring-fenced grant to primary schools, and other educational establishments with primary aged children, including NMSS. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-conditions-of-grant-2022-to-2023.The Recovery Premium is a time limited grant which is providing over £300 million of additional funding for schools in the 2021/22 academic year and £1 billion across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years. It is provided to NMSS, and to Local Authorities for eligible pupils in independent special schools, where the Local Authority pays full tuition fees. Details on allocations and conditions of the grant are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-recovery-premium-funding-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2022-to-2023.NMSS receive Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) funding, as they have a duty to provide free school meals to eligible pupils. This includes the provision of UIFSM to pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Provisional allocations to NMSS for UIFSM amounted to £34,000 for the 2022/23 academic year.The Department also provides capital funding for schools outside the voluntary aided and state sector. In March 2022, the Department announced £1.4 billion in High Needs Provisional Capital Allocations to support Local Authorities to deliver new places for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years and improve existing provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities or who require Alternative Provision. It is for Local Authorities to determine how to use this funding to address their local priorities, but they can use this funding for new places in any school or institution in their area, including NMSS. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-provision-capital-allocations.The Department further allocates condition funding to NMSS to support them in keeping their buildings safe and well maintained. Details of funding allocations are available at: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1155676%2FSchool_capital_funding_allocations_for_2023_to_2024.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK. In the 2023/24 financial year, NMSS were allocated £3,000,000 in school condition allocations to invest in the condition of their buildings, and £410,000 in devolved formula capital for smaller capital projects.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to schools on discussions of Andrew Tate’s views in Personal, Social and Health Education lessons.

Nick Gibb: The statutory guidance for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) does not address teaching about the views of Andrew Tate directly, but it emphasises that schools should be aware of issues such as everyday sexism, misogyny, homophobia and gender stereotypes.Schools should take positive action to build a culture where these are not tolerated, and any occurrences are identified and tackled. The guidance is clear that schools should make clear that sexual harassment is not acceptable, will never be tolerated, and is not an inevitable part of growing up. The statutory guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department made available to Solihull Council through the Senior Mental Health Lead Training Grants.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Solihull Council through the Wellbeing for Education Recovery Grant.

Claire Coutinho: The department is offering a grant to all state schools and colleges to train a senior mental health lead, helping settings to develop their approach to mental health and wellbeing. Senior lead training grants are paid to eligible schools and colleges once they have completed their application and provided evidence of booking a department quality-assured course.The department publishes a list of schools and colleges that have claimed a senior mental health lead training grant, updated throughout the year. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-data-on-funding-claims-by-institutions. This data confirms that 64 grants were paid in 2021/22 to schools and colleges in Solihull local authority and 8 were paid in 2022/23, totalling £86,400 in grants to date.The department also provided Wellbeing for Education Return and Recovery grants to local authorities in 2020 to 2022, to provide additional support to state-funded schools and colleges to enable education staff to promote and support the wellbeing and mental health of pupils and students during the return to schools and in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery period.Solihull local authority received a Wellbeing for Education Return grant of £29,994 in 2020/21, and a further Wellbeing for Education Recovery grant of £26,233 in 2021/22, amounting to a total of £56,227. This data can be obtained from the tables published in the Wellbeing for Education Return and Recovery grant determination letter, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-for-education-return-grant-s31-grant-determination-letter.

Special Educational Needs: Teachers

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to ensure that all children with Multi-Sensory Impairment have access to a Multi-Sensory Impairment teacher.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support children with (a) deafblindness or (b) other complex disabilities.

Claire Coutinho: It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area. The department is exploring further options to maximise take up of the Mandatory Qualification for Sensory Impairment, with a view to improving the supply of teachers for children with sensory impairments.The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is also developing an occupational standard for teachers of Sensory Impairment, which the department expect to be delivered from 2025. This will open a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments.Our reforms, as set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan and the Children’s Social Care Implementation strategy, detail our commitments for providing stronger support for disabled children, including:A Law Commission review of children’s social care legislation for disabled children.Non-stigmatising and easier to access family help.A stronger focus on disabled children in Working Together.New metrics that track the experiences of disabled children through the system.Strengthened language to encourage areas to adopt Designated Social Care Officers.A £30 million investment in innovative approaches to short breaks for disabled children.

Childcare: Fees and Charges

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of  extending the criteria for 30 hours free childcare to children at risk regardless of their parents' employment status.

Claire Coutinho: In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.The government’s 30 hours free childcare entitlement is intended to encourage parents back into work, or to take on additional hours, by helping them with childcare costs. Therefore, it is available to parents who earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours per week at National Minimum or Living Wage (currently just over £167 per week, or £8,670 per year), and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year.In a two-parent family, both parents must meet these thresholds, unless one partner receives certain benefits, such as Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance. In a single-parent household the single parent must meet the thresholds.Parents who are unable to meet the income thresholds for 30 hours free childcare remain eligible for the universal entitlement to 15 hours free early education. This is available for all three and four-year-olds regardless of their family circumstances, and supports children’s development, helping prepare them for school.Working parents on low incomes and in receipt of certain benefits (earning less than £15,400 and receiving Universal Credit or earning less than £16,190 and receiving tax credits), as well as disadvantaged children, including those with education, health and care plans and looked after children, can qualify for 15 hours free early education for two-year-olds.Outside of the early education entitlements, working parents on Universal Credit may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs through Universal Credit Childcare for children aged 0 to16, up to £646 for one child and £1,108 for two or more children.The department continues to support the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children by investing in high-quality early education, family hubs and local services, and by helping parents to support their child’s early language development at home.In future, working parents will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks a year from the point their child is 9 months, to when their child starts school. This offer will be rolled out in phases from April 2024 to September 2025. The department is ensuring a phased implementation of the expansion to the 30 hours offer to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity, and we are working closely with the sector on the implementation of these reforms.

Special Educational Needs

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department monitors the standard of provision of Education, Health and Care Plans.

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what special educational needs and disabilities qualifications are required for people that issue education, health and care plans on behalf of local authorities.

Claire Coutinho: Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans are a fundamental part of the vision described in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, published in March 2023. The department recognises the vital role that local authority staff play in supporting families in the SEND system. We will consider the skills and training that these teams receive and, when consulting on amending the SEND Code of Practice, we will propose new guidance on delivering a responsive and supportive SEND casework service to families.The department does not play a direct role in the monitoring of timeliness or quality of EHC plans. Officials do monitor key performance indicators, including statutory timeliness and tribunal rates. This evidence can inform decisions to provide improvement support to local areas, which includes training and workshops on EHC plan quality. It is the role of Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission to monitor the quality of EHC plans through their Area SEND inspections.

Pre-school Education: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Solihull Council through the Early Years Professional Development Programme (Phase 2).

Claire Coutinho: The Professional Development Programme (Phase 2) (PDP2) ran from January to July 2022, providing high-quality training to over 1,300 practitioners in 51 local authorities. The training covered early language, early mathematics, and personal, social and emotional development.To enable practitioners to access the training, the department provided funding for backfill costs through a Section 31 grant to local authorities. Local authorities were asked to pass on the backfill funding to settings participating in the programme. The backfill was paid in two tranches.Tranche 1, covering training delivered in January to March 2022, was issued to local authorities in March 2022. In Tranche 1, Solihull Council was paid £21,450.Tranche 2, covering training delivered in April to July 2022, was issued in March 2023. In Tranche 2, Solihull Council was paid £12,700.

Children in Care

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are in residential care; and what the average cost is of such placements.

Claire Coutinho: The number of children looked after who were placed in residential care settings on 31 March 2022 was 14,140. The figures include secure units, children’s homes and semi-independent living accommodation, other residential settings, and residential schools. This data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c54349dc-5494-46a2-7c32-08db63adc612.Information on placement settings for looked after children is published annually in Table A2 of the ‘Children looked after in England (including adoptions)’ statistical release, available at : https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.Perfectly aligned costs data are not available. However, the data shown in the 2020/21 Unit Costs of Health and Social Care report shows average costs per placement type. This is available at: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/92342/25/Unit%20Costs%20Report%202021%20-%20Final%20version%20for%20publication%20%28AMENDED2%29.pdf.

Children in Care

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are in care; and how many such children are looked after under kinship care.

Claire Coutinho: The number of children who were in care on 31 March 2022 was 82,170. This information was published for the years ending 31 March 2018 to 31 March 2022 in the annual statistical release ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions, 2022’, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.The department does not hold information centrally specifically on children who are looked after under kinship care. However, of the 82,170 children who were in care on 31 March 2022, 12,580 (15%) were placed with a foster carer who is a relative or friend. This information can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/275cbaa4-5400-4920-86d1-08da7eccd8d3.

Summer Schools: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Solihull Council through the Summer Schools Grant.

Claire Coutinho: As part of the department’s almost £5 billion education recovery package to support children and young people of all ages in catching up on missed education and development, funding was made available for demand-led summer schools in summer 2021 so children, particularly those in transitionary years, could access some of the fundamental teaching and enrichment activities that are so vitally important to development.The allocations made available to each eligible secondary school by local authority in England, can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-summer-schools-programme-funding.Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council was allocated a maximum of £122,802.90 for its maintained schools. This funding was demand-led and, overall, claims for actual costs was less than that allocated.Maintained schools received their funding via the local authority, and academies received their funding directly in the October/November 2021 funding round.

Secure Accommodation: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Solihull Council through the Secure Accommodation Grant.

Claire Coutinho: The 2021 Spending Review announced a total of £259 million of funding to undertake a programme of work aimed at maintaining sufficiency and expanding provision of both secure and open residential children’s homes estates. The West Midlands Partnership project, of which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is a member, is one of the expansion projects for secure accommodation and is at the construction feasibility stage. The West Midlands Partnership was awarded £165,000 of funding in 2022/23 to undertake this initial stage. The project is following a Gateway approach, which enables the department to review proposed project costs and progress at key delivery points, to ensure value for money and ensure that the project is on track as it progresses. Once operational, the new facility will provide an additional 18 beds and a further two step-down beds for young people with complex needs who require this care.

Social Workers

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many social workers are (a) permanent and (b) agency staff: and what the cost is of employing each group.

Claire Coutinho: In 2022 there were a total of 31,600 full time equivalent (FTE) child and family social workers employed by local authorities in England. In addition, there were 6,760 social workers in local authorities that were hired as agency staff. This gives a total of 38,360 (FTE) social workers in 2022. The department does not collect data on the cost of employing permanent or agency social workers.

Office for Students: Freedom of Expression

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the expected costs are of the Office for Science Directorate headed by the Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom in financial years (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25.

Claire Coutinho: In the Impact Assessment published in June 2022, the government estimated that the administration costs to the Office for Students (OfS) would range between £0.5 to £0.8 million per year. This estimate was made before detailed decisions had been taken about the role and renumeration package for the Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom, and what funding his team will require. The impact assessment can be found on the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 webpage, accessible at: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2862/publications.

Social Workers

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many social work visits were carried out (a) in person and (b) online in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average duration of a social work visit was in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many social workers live in the local authority for which they work.

Claire Coutinho: ​​The department does not hold data on the number of child and family social worker visits carried out in person or online in each of the last five years, the average duration of a social worker visit in each of the last five years, or where child and family social workers live.Social workers provide information about their home and work locations to Social Work England when they join the professional register, and when they renew their registration each year. This information is not verified by Social Work England.

Office for Students: Freedom of Expression

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Office for Students on its preparedness for implementing the Free Speech Complaints Scheme; and what her timeline is for that Scheme to be operational.

Claire Coutinho: The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill received Royal Assent on 11 May 2023. The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator, is responsible for implementing key measures in the legislation. Officials at the OfS and the department are liaising about implementation of the Act. It is for the OfS to determine how it plans to implement specific measures introduced by the Act, including the new complaints scheme.

Children: Social Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 May by the Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing on Children's Social Care Update, HCWS792, and to the briefing The Cost of Delaying Reform to Children’s Social Care published on 22 May by Action for Children, Barnardo's, The Children's Society, National Children's Bureau, and NSPCC, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of delays to reform of children’s social care.

Claire Coutinho: There needs to be a fundamental shift away from crisis intervention and towards earlier intervention, and ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ sets out how the department intends to achieve that. These are complex reforms, with complicated systemic interactions. It is critical that the department takes a test and learn approach and ensures that these models can be rolled out effectively.Alongside the Implementation Strategy, the department announced funding of £200 million by 2024/25 to address urgent issues facing children and families now, to lay the foundations for whole system reform, and set the national direction for change. This is on top of the £142 million by 2024/25 to take forward reforms to unregulated provision in children’s social care, £160 million as announced in March 2022, over the next three years to deliver our Adoption Strategy. This is also in addition to £259 million over the Spending Review 2021 period to maintain capacity and expand provision in secure and open residential children’s homes, and £230 million over the same period to support young people leaving care.This is in addition to the £3.85 billion social care grant to local authorities for adults and children’s social care this year.

Multiple Births

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support parents of twins and other multiples with the cost of (a) childcare and (b) other costs associated with raising children.

Claire Coutinho: In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.The department’s reforms include:Providing over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to fund 30 hours of free childcare for children over the age of nine months.Investing £204 million from September 2023, rising to £288 million in 2024/25 to uplift the rates for existing entitlements.Increasing the supply of wraparound care through £289 million start-up funding.Attracting more people to childminding through an up to £7.2 million start-up grant fund.Giving providers more flexibility by changing staff-to-child ratios to 1:5 for two-year-olds in England.Launching a consultation on further measures to support reform of the childcare market, to explore further flexibilities for providers. In the past five years the department has spent more than £20 billion supporting families with the cost of childcare. Hundreds of thousands of children aged 3 and 4 are registered for a 30 hours place, saving eligible working parents up to £6,000 per child per year. Expanding this entitlement will help even more working parents with childcare costs.The government is also taking action to support parents on Universal Credit with childcare costs upfront when they need it, rather than in arrears. We are increasing support for these parents by increasing the childcare cost maximum amounts up to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two or more children, a rise of 47% from the previous limits.Additionally, Tax-Free Childcare is available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children. This can save parents up to £2,000 per year, or up to £4,000 for eligible children with disabilities, and has the same income criteria as 30 hours free childcare.There is no maximum limit, so regardless of the number of children claimed for, the parent can benefit provided they meet the criteria.

University of Gibraltar: British Students Abroad

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department provides (a) support and (b) financial assistance to UK students who wish to study at the University of Gibraltar.

Robert Halfon: The department does not provide support or financial assistance to UK students who wish to study at the University of Gibraltar. We are exploring the options for financing English students to study in Gibraltar, whilst ensuring that those students receive an education, and that they benefit from safeguards which are broadly comparable with those in the England.

Skills Bootcamps: Older People

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people aged (a) 50 and (b) over 50 started a Skills Bootcamp in financial year 2021-22.

Robert Halfon: Skills Bootcamps have proven popular with adults of working age. The published evaluation of delivery of Skills Bootcamps between April 2021 and 31 March 2022 shows a breakdown of learner starts by age band, with 2,277 (15%) learner starts between ages 45-54 and 759 (5%) learner starts between ages 55-67. The programme is rapidly expanding and as the department makes more training places available, we will ensure that adults that are 50 and over continue to be able to benefit from Skills Bootcamps training.

Teachers: Workplace Pensions

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing Higher Education institutions with transitional relief subsidies to help cover the cost of rises in Teachers' Pensions Scheme employer contributions.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the scope of Teachers' Pension Employer Contribution Grants to include Higher Education institutions in the context of increases in Teachers’ Pensions Scheme employer contributions.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a long-term forecast of scheduled increases to Teachers' Pension Scheme employer contributions on Higher Education institutions.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the level of Teachers’ Pensions Scheme employer contributions on (a) the budgets of Higher Educational institutions and (b) the number of academic jobs in the higher education sector.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to take steps to support Higher Education institutions with the cost of (a) staffing and (b) course provision to cover potential increases in Teachers' Pension Scheme employer contributions.

Robert Halfon: The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is one of the best pension schemes available. It is a defined benefit scheme, which means that members receive an index-linked income in retirement, that it has a large employer contribution element, and that it is underwritten by HM Treasury.The arrangements for valuing public service pension schemes, like the TPS, recognise that there are a wide number of factors that affect the cost of providing the benefits involved, and those factors are subject to regular change, including longevity, member behaviour and economic performance. Reviewing those factors every four years, which is in line with practice for similar pension schemes, is necessary to ensure that the contribution rate employers pay reflects a reasonably up-to-date view of costs, including for higher education (HE) providers. There would be limited value in seeking to forecast likely costs beyond that because of the potential for the wide range of factors involved to change, and therefore there are no plans to make such forecasts currently.In recognition of the cost pressure a potential increase to employer contribution rates would bring to existing departmental budgets, on 30 March 2023 the Government announced its commitment to providing funding for employers whose employment costs are centrally funded. HE providers are not covered by this commitment. This is consistent with the decision to not fund a similar TPS cost increase in 2019. The Department expects the 2020 TPS valuation to be completed and revised employers’ contribution rates to be confirmed in September 2023. At this point it will be possible for HE providers to accurately assess how any changes in employers’ contribution rates may affect budgets.The Department recognises that, while the Office for Students’ annual report on financial sustainability finds that university finances generally remain in good shape, there remains a wide spread of financial performance across the sector. The Department, along with HM Treasury, recognise the importance of this issue, and will continue discussions about the implications for HE providers. The Government will confirm its position on this issue in due course.

Schools: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department made available to Solihull Council through the School Condition Allocation.

Nick Gibb: Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department to support a high quality education for all pupils. The Department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 to keep schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in 2023/24. This is informed by consistent data on the condition of the school estate. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme will transform buildings at 500 schools over the next decade, prioritising schools in poor condition with evidence of potential safety issues. The Department has announced 400 schools to date, which includes 239 in December 2022, including Our Lady of Compassion Catholic Primary School in Solihull constituency.Solihull Local Authority has been allocated a school condition allocation of £1,830,437 for the 2023/24 financial year to use in maintaining and improving the condition of its school buildings. Large multi academy trusts and voluntary aided school groups with schools in Solihull will also have been allocated a school condition allocation to spend on their school buildings. Smaller and single academy trusts were invited to bid into the condition improvement fund, with outcomes now published on GOV.UK.Schools maintained by Solihull Local Authority have also been allocated £278,268 in devolved formula capital to spend on their own capital priorities, whilst schools in the Local Authority across all types of responsible bodies have been allocated £989,127.

Physical Education

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the total number of hours that school students have been taught PE in (a) primary school and (b) secondary school for each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: Information on the number of hours taught for each subject is collected from state funded secondary schools as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. Information is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.The number of hours spent teaching physical education in a typical week from 2011/12 to 2021/22 (full time period available), is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/276d8355-0aeb-4b80-7c2c-08db63adc612. Similar data for 2010 is not available, but data related to 2010 is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2010-provisional.Timetabled teaching is reported for a typical week in November, as determined by the school. It does not cover an entire year of teaching. If there are variations in timetabling across the year, this is not covered in the data available to the Department.The subjects taught are only collected from secondary schools that use electronic timetabling software that can produce data in the format required. Data is then weighted to provide national totals.Information on the number of hours taught for each subject is not collected from primary schools.

Further Education: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Solihull Council through the 16-19 Education Grant.

Robert Halfon: The department has allocated £8,659 for 2022/2023 to Solihull local authority through the 16-to-19 bursary funding, for them to pay maintained special schools. There are no other maintained schools with sixth forms in Solihull local authority, and they do not operate their own 16-to-19 training provision.

Countryside: Curriculum

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking through the national curriculum to help primary school children engage with nature.

Nick Gibb: The National Curriculum is a framework setting out the content of what schools are expected to cover in each curriculum subject. Teachers use their own knowledge and expertise to determine how they teach their pupils the content of the curriculum, tailoring their lessons to the individual needs of the pupils.The geography and science curricula offer opportunities to teach about nature and related topics. In science at Key Stages 1 and 2, under the topics of ‘Plants’ and ‘Living things and their habitats’, the National Curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to engage with nature and explore the local environment to answer questions on plants and animals in their habitat. In the Key Stage 2 geography curriculum pupils use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.In April 2022, the Department released its Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy which will increase opportunities for pupils to spend time in nature. Key initiatives of this strategy include the National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Award. These programmes will not only engage pupils with the natural world, but will directly involve them in measuring and improving biodiversity in their nursery, school, college or university.On 18 May, the Department announced £15 million in funding will be provided to nurseries, schools and colleges to create opportunities for outdoor education in natural settings. The funding boost will help them to develop the biodiversity of their site.The Department will continue to work across Government to identify opportunities for children and young people to access education in natural settings.

Developing Countries: Education

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on (a) teacher training and (b) educational resources on international development in the 2022-23 financial year.

Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all pupils and has funded significantly in education to achieve that.The Department does not specifically fund Initial Teacher Training on international development.Schools receive core funding, to cover all the core running costs of a school. Overall, funding for both mainstream schools and high needs increased by £4 billion in 2022/23 compared to the previous year. Total funding for mainstream schools was £53.8 billion in the 2022/23 financial year.All schools and academies have the freedom to choose how to spend their core funding according to their own unique circumstances and priorities, providing that all expenditure ultimately benefits their pupils. The Department does not allocate specific budgets for each subject. It is for schools to decide the allocation of resources at an individual school level.Geography is part of the statutory National Curriculum for maintained schools at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. Within geography, the National Curriculum and subject content for GCSE does set out requirements for teaching human geography, including economic, global, and international development.Citizenship is also part of the statutory National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4. As part of Citizenship, pupils will learn about Parliament, the importance of voting and elections, the role of police, courts and justice, free press, human rights and international law and the governments of other countries, both democratic and non-democratic. They are also taught the actions citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond.

National Tutoring Programme: Finance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the increase will be in funding for the National Tutoring Programme in the academic year 2023-24 following the decision to raise the subsidy rate to 50% for that year.

Nick Gibb: The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is central to the Department’s £5 billion education recovery programme, which includes up to £1.5 billion on tutoring, £400 million on teacher training opportunities, and nearly £2 billion of direct funding to schools so they can deliver evidence-based interventions based on pupil needs. This support is especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged, vulnerable or those with the least time left in education, wherever they live.The (NTP) makes available subsidised tutoring to boost progress of pupils who most need to catch up on education lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate academic progress. Since November 2020, over three million courses have been started through the NTP.The Department has set the subsidy rate for the NTP for the 2023/24 academic year at 50%. This change is in response to schools’ concerns over previously announced funding arrangements, which included a 25% subsidy rate. The 50% subsidy rate announced on 23 May 2023 means that schools now need to contribute less of their core funding to provide tutoring.The Department is providing £150 million for tutoring in the 2023/23 academic year. The funding each school receives is determined by their number of pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium. The funding provided next year is unchanged as a result of changing the subsidy rate at 50%, and brings the total funding for tutoring to £1 billion.

Special Educational Needs

Mark Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of demand for school places in specialist settings.

Claire Coutinho: Demand for specialist school placements has grown in recent years, with over 50,000 more pupils placed in special schools compared to 2017. We have responded to this by developing new specialist provision. We are investing £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025 to deliver new specialist places in mainstream and special schools. Our Free Schools programme has opened 77 special and 50 alternative provision free schools across the country since 2010, with 67 similar projects in the pipeline. The recent Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan will give families greater confidence that their child will be able to fulfil their potential through improved mainstream provision in their local setting. For those children and young people with SEND who do require an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and specialist provision, we will ensure they get prompt access to the support they need, and that parents do not face an adversarial system to secure this.

Students: Cost of Living

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education,what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in the cost of living on students.

Robert Halfon: The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year which have impacted students. The department has not directly assessed the impact of increases in the cost of living on Higher Education (HE) students. The department closely monitors the evidence produced by other organisations and uses this to inform decision-making. For example, the Office for National Statistics’ work on the behaviours, plans, opinions and well-being of students related to the cost of living from the Student Cost of Living Insights Study (SCoLIS) and the Office for Students’ brief, ‘Studying during rises in the cost of living’.Having considered reports such as these, on 11 January 2023, the department announced a one-off funding boost of £15 million to this year's student premium. There is now £276 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help. This extra funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes.Decisions on student support for HE courses are taken on an annual basis and changes for the 2023/24 academic year were made through regulations laid in January 2023. The department has continued to increase maximum loans and grants for living and other costs on an annual basis, with a 2.3% increase for the 2022/23 academic year and a further 2.8% increase for 2023/24.Furthermore, students who have been awarded a loan for living costs for the 2022/23 academic year that is lower than the maximum, and whose household income for the tax year 2022/23 has dropped by at least 15% compared to the income provided for their original assessment, have been able to apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.Decisions on student finance have had to be taken alongside other spending priorities to ensure the system remains financially sustainable and the costs of HE are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university.

Schools: Paper

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of the changes in the level of the cost of paper on the budgets of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Nick Gibb: This Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all pupils and has provided significant funding for education to achieve that.The 2022 Autumn Statement announced additional funding of £2 billion in each of the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years, over and above totals announced at the 2021 Spending Review. Of this additional funding, £400 million will be allocated to Local Authorities’ high needs budgets. The rest of the £2 billion will be allocated to schools through a new grant for mainstream schools and boosting the Pupil Premium funding rates. For mainstream schools, additional funding through the Mainstream Schools Additional Grant is worth on average 3.4%, or £192, per pupil in 2023/24, and is being provided on top of the allocations based on the National Funding Formula announced in July. A typical primary school with 200 pupils will receive approximately £35,000 in additional funding, and a typical secondary school with 900 pupils approximately £200,000.This means funding for mainstream schools and high needs is £3.5 billion higher in the 2023/24 financial year, compared to 2022/23. That is on top of the £4 billion, year-on-year increase provided in the 2022/23 financial year, which is an increase of £7.5 billion, or over 15%, in just two years.Funding for both mainstream schools and high needs will total £58.8 billion in 2024/25, which is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil. This assessment has been confirmed by the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies.The Government provides these increases to school revenue budgets so that schools can cover cost increases in the year ahead and can continue to concentrate funding in the areas that have a positive effect on educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the pupils who need it most.A recent Education Hub post provides a helpful illustration of how different costs are covered nationally from within mainstream schools’ existing funding. The Hub post is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/03/28/teacher-strikes-latest-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-teacher-pay-offer/. Whilst this Hub post was written in relation to the 4.5% teacher pay offer in March, the Department’s calculations show that even after accounting for the increases to teachers’ and support staff pay in 2022, a total of £2.4 billion nationally will remain in mainstream schools’ budgets to cover other cost rises.In its calculations, the Department assesses the effect of increases in spending across three broad categories: teaching staff, non-teaching staff and non-staff related expenditure, but does not analyse increases in specific categories of spending, such as paper.

Students: Fees and Charges

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education,what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of tuition fees on the social mobility of young people.

Robert Halfon: The introduction of tuition fees has not resulted in fewer people going into Higher Education (HE). The 18-year-old entry rate for disadvantaged students from England increased from 14.4% in 2011 to 25.1% in 2022, and in 2022 we saw record numbers of disadvantaged 18-years-olds going to HE.Disadvantaged entry rate - English 18-year-olds 201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022Disadvantaged entry rate14.4%14.4%15.6%17.0%18.0%18.9%19.9%20.2%21.7%24.0%24.5%25.1%Notes: Disadvantage measured using POLAR, a measure of educational disadvantage.Source: UCAS End of Cycle Resources, available at: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-end-cycle-data-resources-2022.From August 2023, interest rates for new student loan borrowers will be reduced to RPI only. Under these new terms, no one will repay more than they originally borrowed when adjusted for inflation.Degree apprenticeships also offer a unique opportunity for people to earn while they learn, achieving degrees from some of our best universities without incurring tuition fees. We’ve seen year-on-year growth of degree-level apprenticeships (Levels 6 & 7) with over 185,000 starts since their introduction in 2014/15 academic year.

Apprentices: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Solihull Council through the Apprenticeships Participation 18+ Grant.

Robert Halfon: In the 2023/24 financial year, funding available for apprenticeships in England is £2.58 billion.Funding for new apprenticeship starts is not allocated to training providers, individual areas, or by age. Rather, employers of all sizes across England can access funding to offer high-quality apprenticeships to help meet their skills needs.The government is unable to provide a breakdown of apprenticeship spending by region as it does not publish this data.

Schools: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Solihull Council through the Financial Transparency in Local Authority Maintained Schools Grant.

Nick Gibb: In the 2021/22 financial year, Solihull was given £2,739 through the Financial Transparency in Local Authority Maintained Schools Grant. This was the first time that the grant was distributed. In the 2022/23 financial year, this grant, totalling £772,000, distributed across 150 Local Authorities, was consolidated into the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities’ local government settlement, alongside other similar grants to Local Authorities.

Teachers: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department made available to Solihull Council through the Teaching School Core Grant.

Nick Gibb: The Teaching Schools programme operated from September 2011 to August 2021 and focused on school to school support. In the Recruitment and Retention strategy, published in January 2019, the Department committed to improving support for all teachers, ensuring that they receive high quality training and development at every stage of their career.The Teaching School Hubs programme, in operation since September 2021, created a network of 87 centres of excellence for teacher training and development to replace the previous network of around 750 Teaching Schools.Solihull Council has not received a direct Teaching School Core Grant from the Department. The Teaching Schools programme, which ended in 2021, paid the Teaching School Core Grant to the nominated bank account of the Teaching Schools based in Solihull as shown in the table below.Designated Teaching SchoolArdenCastle Bromwich Infant and Nursery SchoolTudor Grange Academy2013/14 (AY)0040,0002014/15 (AY)0040,0002015/16 (AY)0040,0002016/17 (AY)0040,0002017/18 (AY)0040,0002018/19 (AY)60,00060,00040,0002019/20 (AY)50,00050,00040,0002020/21 (AY)40,00040,00040,000Total 150,000150,000320,000 Tudor Grange Teaching School Hub has been designated to provide its services to the area of Solihull until August 2024 and its grant is paid directly to its bank account. In the 2021/22 academic year the Department paid Tudor Grange Teaching School Hub £200,000 for the delivery of Initial Teacher Training, Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications, the Appropriate Body role, and additional professional development according to local need.

Schools: Enfield

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Enfield Council through the Financial Transparency in Local Authority Maintained Schools Grant in each of the last ten years in real terms.

Nick Gibb: In the 2021/22 financial year, Enfield was given £3,547.68 through the Financial Transparency in Local Authority Maintained Schools Grant. This was the first time that the grant was distributed. In 2022/23 this grant, totalling £772,000, distributed across 150 Local Authorities, was consolidated into the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities’ local government settlement, alongside other similar grants to Local Authorities.

Primary Education: Physical Education and Sports

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the PE and sport premium for primary schools.

Nick Gibb: On 8 March 2023, the Department announced over £600 million across the next two academic years for the Primary PE and Sport Premium, which can be used by schools to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of the PE, sport, and physical activity they provide.A 2019 survey of the Primary PE and Sport Premium showed positive effects, including increased participation in PE, extra-curricular sport and competitions for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and pupils with SEND. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/primary-pe-and-sport-premium-survey.The Department will be conducting a further evaluation of the Primary PE and Sport Premium, which will include evaluating the effectiveness of the use of the premium by primary schools.

Catering and Hospitality Industry: T-levels

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made on the impact on the hospitality industry of postponing the T level in Catering and Hospitality.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of how many students would have taken the T level in Catering and Hospitality this year.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage young people to (a) enter the hospitality and tourism industry and (b) undertake a degree apprenticeship in tourism.

Robert Halfon: The department is introducing T Levels in a phased approach, with a strong emphasis on quality, both of the qualification itself and its delivery. We can only assess the impact on an industry of the introduction of T Level once we’re able to assess the positive impact the T Level makes.The department communicated the decision to defer the T Level in Catering in March 2023, and providers have subsequently supported students interested in this T Level to find alternate learning programmes to suit their needs, with existing qualifications still funded and available until after the Catering T Level is rolled out.The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education regularly reviews its occupational standards across all sectors. It is currently in the process of engaging with a wide range of stakeholders in catering and hospitality, to ensure that the occupational standards in this sector which underpin apprenticeships and T Level technical qualifications are up to date, and fully meet the needs of employers.There is no T Level specifically in travel and tourism, but T Levels in business and administration are well placed to develop the skills that are relevant to many occupations in this area. Students will then be able to tailor their programme by undertaking their industry placement with a relevant employer in the sector.A range of other provision is available to those young people who want to gain skills in the Hospitality and Travel and Tourism Sectors.There are 137 Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications in the Hospitality and catering sector for 16-19 year olds that are approved for funding in 2023/2024, and 73 Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications in the Travel and tourism sector for 16-19 year olds approved for funding in 2023/2024. Existing travel and tourism qualifications are still in receipt of funding until 2026.The department is encouraging awarding organisations to develop travel and tourism-focused technical qualifications at Level 3, working with employers, colleges, and schools to design new qualifications that support young people to enter employment or further technical study where that is what they want to do.Apprenticeships provide people of all ages with the opportunity to earn and learn the skills needed to start, or progress in, an exciting career in the hospitality and tourism sector. Employers in this sector can access a range of high-quality apprenticeship standards to meet their skills needs, including the Level 3 Travel Consultant, Level 4 Hospitality Manager and Level 4 Senior Culinary Chef. We want to see more young people from all backgrounds undertaking degree apprenticeships, that provide people with high-quality training and are important in supporting productivity, social mobility and widening participation in higher education and employment. Over the next two years the department is making up to £40 million available to higher education providers through the Strategic Priorities Grant, to grow their degree apprenticeship provision and form new employer partnerships.Young people can also benefit from the Free Courses for Jobs offer of a free Level 3 qualification in Hospitality and Catering delivered by a range of providers in England. This offer was extended to include Hospitality and Catering due to a significant skills shortage in the sector following the lifting of lockdown, and robust labour market analysis showing the opportunities in this field.All young people and learners have access to impartial, lifelong careers advice and guidance which empowers them to progress into work or the next stage of their career. This will include advice on a range of options for training in areas such as Hospitality and Travel and Tourism.

GCE A-level and GCSE: Coronavirus

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of covid-19 on the (a) health and (b) education of this year's cohort of (i) GCSE and (ii) A Level students; and what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that this year's (A) GCSE and (B) A-level exams reflect that impact.

Nick Gibb: GCSE, AS and A level exams in England have largely returned to pre-pandemic arrangements this summer. These arrangements are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do. There will be some support in place for pupils in recognition that they have experienced some disruption to their education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ofqual has confirmed a return to pre-pandemic grading in 2023, but with protection in place for GCSE and A level cohorts because of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Where national performance is found to be lower than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, senior examiners will make allowances when setting grade boundaries. GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science students have been provided with formulae and equation sheets, to support them in these subjects. The GCSE, AS and A level exam timetable has been designed to space out exam papers in the same subject. This will give pupils more time to revise between papers than before the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the almost £5 billion made available to support children and young people to catch up on missed education, we are providing £1 billion through the Recovery Premium in 2022/23 and 2023/24 to allow schools to continue to focus on evidence based approaches and activities that support pupils, including those in exam cohorts. The Department has nearly doubled the premium rate for mainstream secondary schools to £276 per eligible pupil, reflecting evidence of need. The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is central to the Department’s £5 billion education recovery programme, which includes up to £1.5 billion on tutoring. This support is especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged, vulnerable or those with the least time left in education, wherever they live. The NTP makes available subsidised tutoring to boost progress of pupils who most need to catch up on education lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate academic progress. Since November 2020 over 3 million courses have been started through the programme. The Department has set the subsidy rate for the NTP for the next academic year at 50%. This change is in response to schools’ concerns over previously announced funding arrangements, which included a 25% subsidy rate. The 50% subsidy rate announced on 23 May means that schools now need to contribute less of their core funding to provide tutoring. From September 2022, full time students in 16 to 19 education will be entitled to an average of 40 additional hours of education. A proportionate increase in hours will be offered to part time students. This is to ensure those with the least time left in education catch up on the vital education they missed during the pandemic. The Department has allocated over £800 million until 2024/25 to fund this. Regarding student health, the Department publishes annual State of the Nation reports, which draw together the best available published evidence on the wellbeing of children and young people aged 5 to 24. The findings from this series of reports inform work across government to support young people's wellbeing. The most recent report was published in February 2023 and can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1134596/State_of_the_nation_2022_-_children_and_young_people_s_wellbeing.pdf.

Schools: Uniforms

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of average savings to parents of buying school uniforms from a shop rather than a school or a designated supplier.

Nick Gibb: In 2015, the Department published a report on the cost of school uniforms, which included data on the average cost of buying items of school uniform when they could be purchased from a range of retailers, compared to when items are restricted to purchase at a school or designated supplier. This showed that most items tended to be substantially cheaper when they could be purchased from a range of retailers. The report is accessible at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/436576/RR474_Cost_of_school_uniform.pdf. This is why the Department’s 2021 statutory guidance on the cost of school uniform requires schools to keep branded items to a minimum, enabling parents to purchase generic items of uniform from a range of retailers. The guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms. The Department has not made a recent assessment of the average savings to parents of buying school uniforms from a shop rather than a school or designated supplier.

Dedicated Schools Grant

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has her Department made of the effectiveness of the Dedicated schools grant.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Early Years Grants.

Nick Gibb: The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) is made up of the schools block, the central school services block, the high needs block, and the early years block. It is payable to Local Authorities under Section 14 of the Education Act 2002, and must be used in support of the schools budget as defined in the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations for the relevant year.At the end of the financial year, the Chief Finance Officer of each Local Authority is required to append a note to its statement of accounts confirming the deployment of the DSG in support of the schools budget as required by the Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015, available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/234/contents/made.The Secretary of State reserves the right to recover the grant where there is evidence that a Local Authority has used it for any purpose other than to support the schools budget, or has failed to comply with any other condition of grant.No specific assessment of the effectiveness of the DSG has been commissioned or is planned, since the funding delivered through this grant provides for the core, day-to-day running costs of schools and early years providers in England.

Priority School Building Programme: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department allocated to Solihull Council for the Priority school building programme in the latest period for which data is available.

Nick Gibb: No schools from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council were included in the Priority School Building Programme, although the area has benefitted from the successor scheme, the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP).SRP was announced in 2020 and will transform buildings at 500 schools and sixth form colleges over the next decade. It will rebuild or refurbish poor condition buildings, providing modern designs, with new buildings being net zero carbon in operation. Two schools from the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council area have been selected for SRP, announced in December 2022. These schools are being scheduled for delivery, and the funding for each project will depend on the works at each school. This will be determined when the scope and delivery plans for each project are developed.

Teachers: Workplace Pensions

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Teachers' pension grant.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Teachers' pay grant.

Nick Gibb: The Department provided £1.5 billion per year to schools and Local Authorities through the Teachers’ Pension Employer Contribution Grant (TPECG) and supplementary fund to cover the cost of the increase in the employer contribution rate of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) from 16.4% to 23.6% from September 2019. The Department also provided approximately £500 million per year through the Teachers’ Pay Grant (TPG) to support schools to implement the 2018 and 2019 teachers’ pay awards.Since 2021/22, the majority of this funding has been paid through the schools, high needs and central school services block (CSSB) National Funding Formulae (NFF), instead of as separate grants. Including this in the NFF simplified the allocation of this funding, worth almost £2 billion a year, improving the efficiency of the funding system, and providing schools and Local Authorities with greater certainty that this funding would continue to be considered part of their core funding.In early years, the funding previously distributed through the teachers’ pay and pensions grants has been rolled into the entitlements funding for 3 and 4-year-olds from 2023/24 and distributed through the Early Years National Funding Formula and Maintained Nursery School supplementary funding.School and academy sixth forms and 16 to 19 schools are not funded through an NFF. In the 2023/24 financial year, these institutions will continue to receive the TPECG, paid separately to core allocations. The TPG was rolled into core 16 to 19 funding from the 2022/23 academic year.No specific evaluation of either of these grants has been commissioned or is planned, as the grants were provided as a contribution to schools’ overall funding. The aim of the grants was to provide additional funding to cover the costs of the increase in the employer contribution rate of the TPS, and the teachers’ pay awards in 2018 and 2019, before the funding could be rolled into core allocations.More information on how the TPG grant has been calculated and rolled in can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pay-grant-methodology/teachers-pay-grant-methodology#paying-the-grant. Details on the TPS are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pension-employer-contribution-grant-tpecg/pension-grant-methodology#how-we-calculate-allocations.

Pupil Premium: Enfield

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what allocation of funding through Pupil Premium was given to Enfield Council for each year in real terms since 2010.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has allocated to Enfield Council as part of the Universal infant free school meal funding in each of the last ten years in real terms.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department made available to Enfield Council as part of the Coronavirus Catch-Up Premium Scheme in each of the last ten years in real terms.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department made available to Enfield Council as part of the School Improvement, Monitoring and Brokering Grant in each of the last ten years in real terms.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department allocated to Enfield Council through the High Needs Funding Programme in each of the last ten years in real terms.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Enfield Council through the Early Years Programme in each of the last ten years in real terms.

Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all pupils and has provided significant funding in education to achieve that.The Autumn Statement 2022 announced additional funding of £2 billion in each of the financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the 2021 Spending Review. This means funding for mainstream schools and high needs is £3.5 billion higher in 2023/24, compared to 2022/23. That is on top of the £4 billion, year on year increase provided in 2022/23. This is an increase of £7.5 billion, or over 15%, in just two years.Total funding for both mainstream schools and high needs will total £58.8 billion in 2024/25, which is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil.The Dedicated Schools Grant Early Years Block and High Needs Block allocations for financial years 2014 to 2024 for Enfield are available in the links in the attached annex. The most recent data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2023-to-2024.The School Improvement and Monitoring Grant allocations for 2018 to 2023 for Enfield are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-improvement-monitoring-and-brokering-grant-allocations#full-publication-update-history. This was a ringfenced grant designed to support councils to monitor performance of maintained schools, broker school improvement provision, and intervene as appropriate. The functions this grant covered are now funded from maintained schools’ budgets.The Covid Catch Up Premium allocation for 2020 to 2021 for Enfield is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-catch-up-premium-provisional-allocations. The Catch Up Premium was followed by the Recovery Premium, which is worth over £1.3 billon for state funded schools in England, across the 2021/22 and 2023/24 academic years. The Recovery Premium was, and continues to be, targeted towards disadvantaged pupils, as the evidence is clear that the disadvantaged have been impacted more than others. Enfield’s allocations for 2021 to 2023 are available in the links in the attached annex, the most recent data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-recovery-premium-funding-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2022-to-2023.Since September 2014, all pupils in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 in England's state funded schools, including academies and free schools, are entitled to free school meals. Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) are funded through a direct grant to schools. In June 2022, the Government announced an increase to £2.41 per pupil in UIFSM funding. This was uplifted from £2.34 in June 2022 and backdated to 1 April 2022 in recognition of the cost pressures schools were facing. The UIFSM provisional allocation for Enfield for 2014 to 2023 are available in the links in the attached annex. The most recent data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-infant-free-school-meals-uifsm-2022-to-2023.The Pupil Premium provides additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils. Pupil Premium rates have increased by 5% for 2023/24. The Pupil Premium allocations for 2014 to 2024 for Enfield are available in the links in the attached annex. The most recent data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2023-to-2024.The Government publishes GDP deflators that can be used to understand the impact of inflation over time. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp-march-2023-quarterly-national-accounts.187828 et al annex 1  (docx, 31.1KB)

Schools: Electronic Cigarettes

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of schools using vaping sensors in school buildings.

Nick Gibb: The Department has not assessed the number of vaping sensors in schools. Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including which items are banned from school premises.My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, recently announced that the Government will be ensuring pupils are made aware of the health risks of vaping. The Department will be including this important topic in relationships, sex and health education lessons (RSHE), as part of the review of the RSHE statutory guidance, to further discourage pupils from taking up vaping.

Free School Meals

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that children who qualify for free school meals but (a) cannot physically attend school due to long-term medical conditions and (b) cannot eat meals provided by schools because of dietary requirements are able to receive free meals.

Nick Gibb: Schools have a duty to provide nutritious, free meals to pupils who meet the eligibility criteria. This includes registered pupils of state funded schools. Free school meal (FSM) provision should be made to eligible pupils either on the school premises or at any other place where education is being provided.The Department expects schools to act reasonably in ensuring that their food provision accounts for medical, dietary, and cultural needs. The Department has published statutory guidance describing steps school may take, including the establishment of individual healthcare plans which may include special diets. This guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803956/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf#:~:text=On%201%20September%202014%20a%20new%20duty%20came,life%2C%20remain%20healthy%20and%20achieve%20their%20academic%20potential.Local Authorities are funded to support children with special educational needs and disabilities, including those who are unable to attend school on a long term basis. The Department’s guidance on this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/illness-child-education.The Department does not plan to expand FSM to include pupils who are home or privately educated. The Department will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.

Free School Meals: Tooting

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school students received free school meals in the Tooting constituency in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The Department publishes figures on the proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals. The most recently published figures can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.

Health Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote healthy eating in schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department encourages a healthy balanced diet and healthy life choices through school funding, legislation and guidance. Schools are encouraged to have a whole school approach to healthy eating through the National Curriculum and school food provision.The standards for school food are set out in the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014. These regulations are designed to ensure that schools provide pupils with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that pupils have the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day.1.9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and are claiming a free, healthy and nutritious school meal. An additional 1.25 million infants enjoy a free meal at lunchtime, following the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals.The School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme also provides over 2.2 million pupils in Reception and Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables each day at school. Schools are encouraged to use this as an opportunity to educate pupils on the benefits of a healthy, balanced diet.The importance of a healthy diet is also included in the science curriculum for both primary and secondary school. Healthy eating is covered through topics relating to nutrition and digestion, which cover the content of a healthy diet and the impact of diet on how the body functions.The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that by the end of primary school, pupils should know what constitutes a healthy diet (including understanding nutritional content), the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals, the characteristics of a poor diet, and the risks associated with unhealthy eating. By the end of secondary school pupils should know how to maintain a healthy diet and understand the links between a poor diet and health risks.Healthy eating and opportunities to develop pupils’ cooking skills are covered in the design and technology (DT) curriculum. Cooking and nutrition is a discrete strand of the DT curriculum and is compulsory in maintained schools for Key Stages 1 to 3. The curriculum aims to teach pupils how to cook and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. The Department has also introduced a new food preparation and nutrition GCSE to provide pupils with practical cookery experience and teach them the underlying scientific concepts of nutrition and healthy eating.The Healthy Schools Rating Scheme celebrates the positive actions that schools are delivering in terms of healthy living, healthy eating and physical activity, and supports schools in identifying further actions that they can take in this area. This voluntary rating scheme is available for both primary and secondary schools.

Developing Countries: Education

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on education about international development in schools in England in the last financial year.

Nick Gibb: The Autumn Statement 2022 announced additional funding of £2 billion in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the Spending Review 2021. This means funding for mainstream schools and high needs is £3.5 billion higher in 2023/24, compared to 2022/23. That is on top of the £4 billion, year on year increase provided in 2022/23. This is an increase of £7.5 billion, or over 15%, in just two years.This additional funding will enable headteachers to continue to allocate budgets to areas that positively impact educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the children who need it most, as well as help schools to manage higher costs, including higher energy bills.All schools and academies have the freedom to choose how to spend their core funding according to their own unique circumstances and priorities, providing that all expenditure ultimately benefits their students. The Department does not allocate specific budgets for each subject. It is for schools to decide the allocation of resources at an individual school level.Geography is part of the statutory National Curriculum for maintained schools at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. Within geography, the National Curriculum and subject content for GCSE sets out requirements for teaching human geography including economic, global and international development.Citizenship is also part of the statutory National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4. As part of citizenship, pupils will learn about Parliament, the importance of voting and elections, the role of police, courts and justice, free press, human rights and international law and the governments of other countries, both democratic and non-democratic. They are also taught the actions citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond.

Pupil Premium: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what allocation of funding through Pupil Premium was given to Solihull Council.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has allocated to Solihull Council as part of the Universal infant free school meal funding.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department made available to Solihull Council as part of the Coronavirus Catch-Up Premium Scheme.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department made available to Solihull Council as part of the School Improvement, Monitoring and Brokering Grant.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department allocated to Solihull Council through the High Needs Funding Programme.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Solihull Council through the Early Years Programme.

Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all pupils and has provided significant funding in education to achieve that.The Autumn Statement 2022 announced additional funding of £2 billion in each of the financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the 2021 Spending Review. This means funding for mainstream schools and high needs is £3.5 billion higher in 2023/24, compared to 2022/23. That is on top of the £4 billion, year on year increase provided in 2022/23. This is an increase of £7.5 billion, or over 15%, in just two years.The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) High Needs Block allocations for the 2023/24 financial year for Solihull is £38,474,528 (after recoupment and deductions).Total funding for both mainstream schools and high needs will total £58.8 billion in 2024/25. This is the highest ever level in real terms spending in schools in history.The Government funds Local Authorities to deliver the early years entitlements through the early years block of the DSG. The published early years block allocation for the 2023/24 financial year for Solihull is £16,971,915.The final School Improvement and Monitoring Grant allocation made to Solihull Local Authority in October 2022 was £42,439. This was a ringfenced grant designed to support councils to monitor performance of maintained schools, broker school improvement provision, and intervene as appropriate. The functions this grant covered are now funded from maintained schools’ budgets.The final COVID-19 Catch Up Premium allocation for 2020/21 for Solihull was £517,788. The Catch Up Premium was followed by the Recovery Premium, which is worth over £1.3 billon for state funded schools in England, across the 2021/22 and 2023/24 academic years. The Recovery Premium was, and continues to be, targeted towards disadvantaged pupils. Solihull’s indicative Recovery Premium allocation for 2022/23 is £784,379.Since September 2014, all pupils in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 in England's state funded schools, including academies and free schools, are entitled to free school meals. Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) are funded through a direct grant to schools. In June 2022, the Government announced an increase to £2.41 per pupil in UIFSM funding. This was uplifted from £2.34 in June 2022 and backdated to 1 April 2022 in recognition of the cost pressures schools were facing. The UIFSM provisional allocation for Solihull for 2022/23 is £976,708.The Pupil Premium provides additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils. Pupil Premium rates have increased by 5% for 2023/24, taking the provisional Pupil Premium allocation in 2023/24 for Solihull to £13,469,085.

Department of Health and Social Care

HIV Infection: Drugs

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing access to PrEP at community pharmacies.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis action plan.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HIV Infection: Disease Control

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce HIV transmissions in rural and coastal areas.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Rabies: Preventive Medicine

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the supply of rabies pre-exposure prophylaxis for UK residents travellingabroad as of 7 June 2023.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cystic Fibrosis

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the present system for calculating the Transplant Benefit Score in the context of the potential increase in life expectancy for UK Cystic Fibrosis sufferers following the introduction in the NHS of elexacaftor-tezacaftor-ivacaftor triple combination therapy (Kaftrio).

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Obesity: Drugs

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish further details on his Department's plans for evaluating the potential impact of making new obesity drugs accessible to patients living with obesity outside of hospital settings on (a) employment outcomes and (b) health-related benefit caseloads.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coeliac Disease

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to mark Coeliac UK’s Awareness Week; and what steps he is taking to (a) improve diagnosis of coeliac disease and (b) support people with long-term health complications associated with untreated coeliac disease.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Semaglutide

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 7 June 2023 HCWS831 on Public Health Update, whether he has made an estimate of the number of patients who will be eligible for Semaglutide in each year of the pilot.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Semaglutide

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 7 June 2023 entitled Public Health Update, HCWS831, how many doses of Semaglutide his Department plans to purchase for these pilots.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Incentives Scheme

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many active users there are of the Better Health: Rewards app.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Paediatrics

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what were the average paediatric accident and emergency waiting times on 31 March (a) 2015, (b) 2019 and (c) 2023.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Yellow Card Scheme

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2023 to Question 186946, on Yellow Card Scheme, when data collection began on medical devices which will be made available in a format similar to that of the Innovative Devices Access Pathway.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Yellow Card Scheme

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his Answer of 5 June 2023 to Question 186944 on Yellow Card Scheme, which international mandatory reporting systems have a (a) better reporting rate and (b) more successful system for detecting safety signals than the United Kingdom, and if he will publish the MHRA review of global approaches to mandatory reporting in other regulatory systems.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Haemochromatosis

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department provides to GP practices for genetic testing for genetic haemochromatosis.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Haemochromatosis

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients' level of access to testing for genetic haemochromatosis is consistent with the criteria set out in the NHS Genomics Test Directory.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2023 to Question 185900 on Healthy Start Scheme, how much funding was provided to his Department for the Healthy Start scheme in 2021-22; and what was the forecasted number of families on the scheme during this time.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Community Nurses: Training

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the pause in procurement of district nursing training courses in September 2023 on (a) the number of district nursing training places and (b) patient safety in the community.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Influenza: Vaccination

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of 50-64 year olds not being eligible for a free flu vaccination in winter 2023.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish the clinical evidence supporting the guidelines that clinically vulnerable people will not be automatically contacted by the NHS on treatments after reporting a positive covid-19 test result from 27 June 2023.

Maria Caulfield: The COVID Medicine Delivery Unit (CMDU) service was established as part of pandemic specific arrangements and was designed to help manage service demand on the National Health Service and prevent hospitalisation. CMDUs were able to contact digitally identifiable patients following the reporting of a positive COVID-19 test result.As we move out of the pandemic and levels of community infection are reducing, the NHS is embedding COVID-19 treatments into routine care pathways to ensure the sustainable access for highest risk patients.Following positive National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations for community-based COVID-19 treatments, integrated care boards (ICBs) will have a statutory responsibility for providing access from 27 June. As with other treatments, it will be for ICBs, who are closer to their local population, to determine the appropriate arrangements for access within the treatment window.NHS England has been working with local systems and clinical leaders to support the transition to routine access to provide assurance that local arrangements are in place. NHS clinicians will continue to assess patients to determine whether they are eligible of treatment in line with the NICE recommendation.

Mental Health Services: Private Sector

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people the NHS has referred to (a) Psychiatry-UK LLP and (b) ADHD 360 for assessments in each of the last three years.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much from the public purse the NHS has paid to (a) Psychiatry-UK LLP and (b) ADHD 360 in each of the last three years.

Maria Caulfield: It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, and we are clear that assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) should happen as soon as possible and in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, ‘Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management’. Information on the number of people referred to Psychiatry-UK LLP or ADHD 360 over the last three years is not held centrally.The following table shows the total value, in £ millions, of invoices received by Clinical Commissioning Groups and ICBs from Psychiatry-UK LLP and ADHD 360 across the last three financial years.Supplier2020/212021/222022/23TotalPSYCHIATRY UK LLP3.815.430.049.1ADHD 360 LTD0.30.61.62.5Total4.115.931.651.6

Suicide

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of when the national suspected suicide surveillance system will be rolled out.

Maria Caulfield: The national suspected suicide surveillance system developed by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in collaboration with local areas and the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) is currently operating in a testing phase. The intention is to complete this phase and move to routinely published reporting by the end of the calendar year.

Gender Dysphoria: Leeds

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time in Leeds is for a specialist appointment following a referral for gender dysphoria.

Maria Caulfield: The mean average wait time for a specialist appointment following a referral for gender dysphoria at the Leeds Gender Identity Clinic is 111.1 weeks, and the median average is 65.6 weeks.The service operates a standard and priority waiting list, both are included in this data. Priority wait is for those people who have had a diagnosis in an NHS England Gender service and are returning to access further treatment, or those who are transferring from another National Health Service gender clinic.To increase service capacity, NHS England has established four new pilot gender identity clinics since 2020. A fifth will open in Sussex in September 2023. This model will be rolled out nationally if the initial clinics are positively evaluated.

Euthanasia

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department holds data on the (a) number and (b) reasons of people who have requested assisted dying from a medical practitioner.

Maria Caulfield: The Government does not collect data on the number or reasons of people who have requested assisted dying from a medical practitioner.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government response entitled, UK regulator confirms that people should continue to receive the COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca, published on 18 March 2021, if he will publish the evidence on which the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency based this advice.

Maria Caulfield: To provide patients and healthcare professionals with information on the evolving safety experience with the COVID-19 vaccines used in the United Kingdom vaccination programme, from February 2021 the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published details of their ongoing safety assessments in the coronavirus vaccine summary of Yellow Card reporting.Information on blood clots occurring with thrombocytopenia was first included in the report on 25 March 2021 and was updated on a weekly basis to reflect the evolving assessment and regulatory position after the 7 April 2021 announcement that a link was considered possible and warnings were to be added to the vaccine’s product information. The higher incidence rate in younger adult age groups was highlighted with advice that the evolving evidence should be considered in the context of using this vaccine. From 29 April 2021 a breakdown of reports by age and sex was included, followed by the inclusion of incidence rates broken down by age. The report has continued to conclude that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the known risks for the majority of people.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many individuals have been detained under the Mental Health Act since January 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The mental health services dataset reports that there were 26,280 people newly detained under the Mental Health Act between January 2022 and July 2022. The information requested is not available beyond this period as the data has not been validated due to being impacted by a cyber incident that affected several mental health providers.

Vaccination: Integrated Care Boards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 June 2023 to Question 186418 on Vaccination: Integrated Care Boards, what discussions he has had with integrated care boards on commissioning school and local vaccination programmes.

Maria Caulfield: Officials from the Department meet regularly with colleagues from NHS England to discuss a variety of issues, including feedback from discussions between NHS England and integrated care boards regarding vaccine delivery.

Hypermobility

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to commission NHS services to help people with (a) hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and (b) hypermobility spectrum disorders receive a multidisciplinary, coordinated approach to care.

Helen Whately: One of the four priorities of the UK Rare Diseases Framework is better coordination of care for rare diseases, such as hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and hypermobility spectrum disorders, with rare disease action plans ensuring delivery. Significant steps were taken during 2022 to deliver on the commitments made in England’s first Rare Diseases Action Plan. This includes the creation and rollout of a toolkit for virtual healthcare consultations to help people with complex, multi-system rare diseases access multiple specialists without needing to travel.In England’s 2023 Action Plan, NHS England will be taking forward work to improve the way in which services for rare diseases are commissioned, placing patient voice at the centre of service delivery, and ensuring coordinated access to specialist care, treatment, drugs, social care, mental health and special educational support.

Cancer: Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) monitor whether NHS cancer targets are being met in each integrated care board and (b) help tackle disparities in meeting NHS cancer targets.

Helen Whately: Improving cancer waiting times is a top priority for this Government, and the Department works closely with NHS England to drive up performance against cancer targets across the country. The National Health Service has asked systems to draw up delivery plans for elective care recovery, including cancer care, which address the longest waiters and ensure health disparities are tackled.NHS England has developed an intervention model, targeting support towards the most challenged trusts to maximise and expand capacity. This work includes developing a co-ordinated support plan monitored by fortnightly progress meetings. Plans have focussed on areas such as pathway improvements and efficiency, workforce support and targeted capacity increases.

Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's open consultation entitled Major conditions strategy: call for evidence, published on 17 May 2023, what his expected timescale is for bringing forward recommendations on that strategy.

Helen Whately: The views and ideas gathered through the Call for Evidence will inform the priorities, content and actions in the final report of the Major Conditions Strategy, which we will be publishing this winter.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support mental health services for children and young people living in rural areas.

Maria Caulfield: It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local populations. There are a range of adjustments made in the core ICB allocations formula to account for the fact that the costs of providing health care may vary between rural and urban areas.We are supporting ICBs to expand mental health services through the NHS Long Term Plan, which commits to investing an additional £2.3 billion a year into mental health services by March 2024. This increased investment will improve access to mental health services, including for people in rural areas. Through the Long Term Plan, by March 2024, 345,000 more children and young people will be able to access National Health Service funded mental health support.We are continuing to roll out Mental Health Support Teams to schools and colleges in England.  There are 3.4 million pupils/learners who were covered by a Mental Health Support Team in 2022/23, which equates to 35% coverage of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England. We expect there to be approximately 500 Mental Health Support Teams up and running by 2024, covering around 44% of pupils.

Hospices: Children

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support children's hospices after the 2023-24 financial year.

Helen Whately: Palliative and end of life care is commissioned locally by integrated care boards in response to the needs of their local population. The Government and NHS England are committed to the long-term sustainability of high-quality palliative and end of life care for all children and young people. Discussions between the Department and NHS England regarding the future of the Children’s Hospice Grant beyond 2023/24 are ongoing, and NHS England is aiming to be able to communicate details in the coming weeks, as soon as is practically possible.

Medical Equipment: Energy

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold a consultation on the range of medical equipment eligible for financial support with running costs.

Helen Whately: The Autumn Statement set out a commitment to work with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach to consumer protection from April 2024. As part of this work, the Government is working with disability organisations, assessing the need for support for people with disabilities including those using medical equipment in the home.The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero plan to consult in Summer 2023 on options for a new approach to consumer protection in the energy markets from April 2024 onwards. The Department of Health and Social Care is supporting on this consultation in the interests of patients that require to utilise energy to run their medical equipment. We do not plan to consult on this issue separately.

Surgical Mesh Implants

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2022 to Question 103061 on Surgical Mesh Implants, whether the peer review of the audit has been completed; and if he will publish the final decision of the review.

Maria Caulfield: The retrospective audit of mesh procedures has been completed and will be published in due course.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Health Services

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has  made of the adequacy of ADHD support services in (a) Weaver Vale (b) North West England and (c) England.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. However, we are aware that referrals for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment have increased for both children and adult’s diagnostic services in Cheshire West, the Weaver Vale locality provider. This position is reflected locally across Cheshire, regionally across the North West, and nationally.In Cheshire West, work is currently underway to improve the ADHD pathway for support for both children and adults within existing resources and with regard to waiting lists to ensure an effective prioritisation process is in place and people’s support needs can be identified earlier.In Cheshire West, there is currently an average 32 weeks waiting time from referral to start of assessment for ADHD for children and young people, with further waits post-assessment.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnosis

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses.

Maria Caulfield: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Rt hon. Member for Leeds Central on 5 April 2023 to Question 175511.

Mental Health Services: Children

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the effectiveness of the level 4 gateway referral process to support children with mental health needs.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England continually assesses the effectiveness of children and young people’s Tier 4 mental health services. The National Health Service is working to reduce reliance on inpatient beds and to have fewer young people being detained under the Mental Health Act. To support this, the model of inpatient care is being reviewed and re-designed to support the move to a community-based provision of care, where children and young people can access appropriate support in a timely, effective, and patient-centred way, close to home and in the least restrictive environment. NHS England is also committed to developing a national Tier 4 admission protocol for children and young people with multi-agency partners, which will seek to address the need for improvement and consistency in practice when identifying the clinical suitability of admission to hospital, the checks and balances required prior to making referral for a Mental Health Act assessment and promotion of the least restrictive practice principle across services.  The national protocol is due to be completed by summer 2023.

Menopause

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people are able to access menopause services at their GP practice.

Maria Caulfield: The menopause is a priority area within the Women’s Health Strategy. The NHS England national menopause improvement programme is working to improve clinical care for menopause.Menopause is a core competency for qualified general practitioners (GPs). The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has a holistic curriculum of training that all GPs must cover before they are able to pass the examination to become a member of the RCGP and work independently as a GP. There is a specific section on women’s health, including the menopause.We have reduced the cost of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions through a bespoke HRT prescription pre-payment certificate. From 1 April 2023, women can pay a one-off charge equivalent to two single prescription charges (£19.30) for all their HRT prescriptions for a year.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy for people aged over 75 to receive their covid-19 booster vaccination at their GP surgery.

Maria Caulfield: The Department’s policy is to work with NHS England to ensure that COVID-19 booster vaccination is provided in a way that is accessible as possible and tailored to local needs. Therefore, NHS Regional teams commission their vaccination delivery network with their system colleagues to meet the needs of their local population.COVID-19 vaccines require specialised transportation and handling once it has been despatched and needs to be used within short space of time. Some general practitioner surgeries do not have the facilities to either store or administer COVID-19 vaccines and it is very important that we minimise unnecessary wastage.We continue to do everything to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccination is convenient and easy for all who are eligible within possible means.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure people (a) aged over 75 and (b) aged over 75 who require disabled access are able to access local covid-19 booster vaccinations.

Maria Caulfield: There are many vaccination sites available to help ensure that people aged over 75 years old and those who require disabled access can receive COVID-19 booster vaccinations in a convenient way. Flexible delivery models such walk-in and mobile vaccination clinics are available to increase access and convenience of the vaccination offer for everyone eligible. NHS England continue to do everything to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccination is convenient and easy for all who are eligible, including offering home vaccinations to those who are housebound. The National Booking Service and 119 telephone service allows people to communicate access requirements to find a vaccination site which meets their needs.

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to reduce the amount of time it takes to commission Units of Dental Activity.

Neil O'Brien: We have implemented actions to better utilise Units of Dental Activities (UDAs) already commissioned. Our reforms of the National Health Service dental system announced in July 2022 included allowing NHS dentists to deliver up to 110% of their contracted UDAs and enabling NHS commissioners to mandate contract rebasing for repeatedly underperforming NHS dental contracts.From 1 April 2023 responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. ICBs will have local processes in place to identify areas of need and determine the priorities for investment.

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to redesign the framework for NHS dentistry to focus on outputs.

Neil O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 May 2023 to Question 183740.

Processed Food

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of (a) public health measures to raise awareness of the potential risks of ultra-processed foods, (b) introducing measurable reduction targets for consumption of ultra-processed foods and (c) ensuring that ultra-processed foods do not appear as good choices on the NHS Food Scanner app.

Neil O'Brien: The Government encourages everyone to have a healthy balanced diet in line with the United Kingdom’s healthy eating model, the Eatwell Guide, which shows that foods high in saturated fat, salt or sugar should be eaten less often or in small amounts.United Kingdom Government dietary guidelines are based on recommendations from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). SACN is currently carrying out a scoping review of the evidence on processed foods and health and aims to publish its initial assessment in the summer of 2023.There is currently no universally agreed definition of ultra-processed foods. However, a diet high in foods classified as processed is often high in calories, salt, saturated fat and sugar and low in fibre, fruit and vegetables, which is associated with an increased risk of obesity and developing chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes and some cancers.The Good Choice badge helps people identify healthier options using the NHS Food Scanner app and when shopping in store and online. The app and wider Better Health tools supports families on their journey towards having a healthier diet, as making the step to the healthiest option may be too far for many people in one move.

Obesity

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help tackle obesity rates.

Neil O'Brien: In addition to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 20 March 2023 to Question 166392, the weight loss drug Semaglutide (Wegovy) will be available on the National Health Service within three months of its launch in the United Kingdom with eligibility in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendations. This drug needs to be provided within a specialist weight management service which are usually hospital based. A two-year pilot backed by up to £40 million is being developed to explore ways to make these drugs accessible to patients living with obesity outside of hospital settings.

Electronic Cigarettes

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the proposed illicit vapes enforcement squad will operate UK-wide.

Neil O'Brien: The illicit vape enforcement team’s programme of work is for England only. However, they will work closely with enforcement agencies across the United Kingdom and share relevant data and intelligence related to illicit and underage vaping.

Electronic Cigarettes: Children

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to tackle the promotion and marketing of vaping to children.

Neil O'Brien: The Government recently ran a call for evidence on youth vaping that closed on the 6 June 2023. This included a theme covering the marketing and promotion of vapes. We are now reviewing the evidence and will respond later this year.

Smoking

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve smokers’ awareness of reduced risk products other than vapes and e-cigarettes.

Neil O'Brien: The Government is taking a range of actions to improve smokers’ awareness of evidence-based alternatives to smoking. Evidence shows that nicotine replacement therapy along with behavioural support from a stop smoking service is the most effective way for a smoker to quit. The Government will continue to monitor evidence on other reduced risk products and their effectiveness in supporting quit attempts.

Drugs: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated by his Department to Solihull Council for the Universal drug treatment grant in the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24 financial years.

Neil O'Brien: Drug Strategy funding for local authorities is now referred to as the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery (SSMTR) grant. Solihull Council’s SSMTR grant funding allocation was £398,493 for financial year 2022/23 and £406,349 for financial year 2023/24.

Electronic Cigarettes: Passive Smoking

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the impact on public health of second-hand vapour from e-cigarettes in public spaces.

Neil O'Brien: The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, previously Public Health England (PHE), has published detailed evidence updates on vapes (e-cigarettes) since 2014.The last report, published in 2022, assesses the impact on public health of second-hand vapour from e-cigarettes in public spaces. This can be seen in Chapter 7 ‘Biomarkers of Secondhand exposure’. The full report is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1107701/Nicotine-vaping-in-England-2022-report.pdfIn summary, there is limited published evidence of harm to bystanders from exposure to e-cigarette vapour and the available evidence indicates that any risk of harm is extremely low, especially when compared with tobacco smoke. PHE also published advice on the use of vapes in public places and workplaces in 2016 which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/use-of-e-cigarettes-in-public-places-and-workplaces

Smoking: Gateshead

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to provide stop smoking services in Gateshead.

Neil O'Brien: We continue to provide funding to local authority stop smoking services via the Public Health Grant. The local authority in Gateshead commission a highly effective Stop Smoking Service which is available to all smokers locally.

Long Covid: Medical Treatments

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of treatment by NHS England for people with long covid.

Neil O'Brien: No assessment has been made. The Government has invested more than £50 million in 22 research projects for Post COVID-19 conditions to improve understanding and treatment of these conditions. We are also monitoring research being undertaken internationally. The National Institute for Health and Care Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Post COVID-19 conditions.

Social Services: Pay

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of social care pay was funded through local authority fees in the latest period for which data is available.

Helen Whately: The Department is not able to make an assessment of the percentage of social care pay bill costs funded through local authority fees. This is because most of the adult social care workforce are employed by private sector providers who set their pay and terms and conditions, independent of central Government. Local authorities work with care providers to determine state-funded fee rates, which should take account of wage costs, based on local market conditions.

Social Services: Enfield

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funds his Department (a) allocated and (b) disbursed to Enfield Council through the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund in each year since 2021.

Helen Whately: Enfield received £879,284 in round one and £1,623,294 in round two from the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund for adult social care.Full details of grant allocations are available at the following links:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-recruitment-and-retention-fund-for-adult-social-carehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-recruitment-and-retention-fund-for-adult-social-care-round-2

Automated External Defibrillators Fund

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2023 to Question 185714 on Defibrillators: Information, what the criteria are for determining a selected partner for the Automated External Defibrillator Fund.

Helen Whately: The Department will invite bids from those suppliers who are on the Governments Crown Commercial Service list of approved suppliers. The managing partner for the Automated External Defibrillator Fund will be selected during the tender and evaluation exercise based on their response to the draft specification which was published by the Department on 26 May 2023, which is available at the following link:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2c6e4cd1-3302-448d-8ebe-2795fb996843

Dementia: Penrith and the Border

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the dementia diagnosis rate in Penrith and The Border constituency.

Helen Whately: In December 2022, the recovery of the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7% was included in the National Health Service priorities and operational planning guidance 2023/24. This reinforces the importance of dementia as a key priority for NHS England and provides a clear direction for integrated care boards to support delivery of timely diagnoses within systems.North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board is undertaking a number of actions to improve the dementia diagnosis rate in Penrith and the borders. This includes ensuring every individual with a diagnosis of dementia is accurately coded on their patient record and streamlining dementia pathways across the area.

Chemotherapy

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to commission chemosaturation as a treatment for cancer.

Helen Whately: NHS England and integrated care boards (ICBs) have responsibility for the commissioning of healthcare services which respond to population health needs including in relation to the treatment of cancer. Therefore, any decisions on commissioning chemosaturation would be a decision for NHS England and the relevant ICB, not for the Department. NHS England and ICBs are guided by the recommendations made by the National Institute for Healthcare Excellence.

Diabetes: Somerset

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when hybrid closed loop systems to treat children with Type 1 diabetes will be available on NHS prescription in Somerset.

Helen Whately: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on hybrid closed loop systems for managing blood glucose levels in type one diabetes, which considers their clinical and cost effectiveness.Should NICE recommend Hybrid Closed Loop and issue eligibility criteria, NHS England will then work with integrated care boards to support meeting their commitments. Guidance indicates that the National Health Service must make sure it is available within the stated period, usually three months.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the number of minimally-invasive cancer treatments available to patients through NHS Cancer Alliances.

Helen Whately: The adoption of new treatments, including increasing the number of minimally invasive cancer treatments, into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institution of Clinical Exellence (NICE) guidance and commissioner decisions. Both NHS England and integrated care boards (ICBs) are required to put in place access for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by NICE.

Radiology: Staff

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include an assessment of the number of interventional (a) oncologists and (b) radiologists that will be needed in the future in the NHS workforce strategy.

Helen Whately: NHS England is implementing the priorities identified in the cancer workforce plan phase one and is investing an additional £50 million in 2023/24 to expand the cancer and diagnostics workforce, including postgraduate medical training of cancer-related medical professions, such as oncologists and interventional radiologists.The Government has also committed to publishing the Long Term Workforce Plan shortly. This will include projections for the number of doctors, nurses and other professionals that will be needed, taking full account of improvements in retention and productivity.This plan will help ensure that we have the right numbers of staff, with the right skills, to transform and deliver high quality services fit for the future.

Hypermobility: Medical Treatments

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with (a)  hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and (b) Hypermobility spectrum disorders are able to access treatment.

Helen Whately: Patients suspected of having Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) are assessed and diagnosed in United Kingdom regional clinical genetics clinics and various other secondary and tertiary specialty clinics such as dermatology, rheumatology, paediatrics, vascular surgery, gastroenterology and neurology. Patients with EDS may be looked after by their general practitioners (GPs), within community services, in secondary care and in tertiary care. Integrated care boards commission secondary care services for patients who have EDS and NHS England commissions some specialist services for patients with EDS. A service for patients who have complex EDS is delivered by two centres in England, London North West University Healthcare Trust and Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Complex EDS service provides diagnosis and advice to referrers on treatment and management of complex cases. NHS England does not hold information centrally on Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders. Integrated care systems commission services to meet the needs of their local population, this includes commissioning services for Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders, usually via local physiotherapy services.

Health Services

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department will use responses to its call for evidence for the Health Disparities White Paper in the development of the Major Conditions Strategy.

Helen Whately: The Major Conditions Strategy is being informed by materials gathered from previous listening exercises including those carried out on health disparities, cancer and mental health. Those who responded to previous engagement exercises have the opportunity to input into the Call for Evidence issued on 17 May and to provide further insights and suggestions building on previous contributions.

Aortic Stenosis

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the size of waiting lists for aortic stenosis among women in the last three years.

Will Quince: No specific assessment has been made.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Land

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2023 to Question 186009 on Ministry of Defence: Land, how his Department intends to use the planned infrastructure expenditure for the 2023-24 financial year.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence plans to spend £4.2 billion on infrastructure in FY2023-24. Expenditure is split between the Top Level Budget holders, the largest of which is the Army, who will spend over £1.6 billion on infrastructure this year. Other expenditure includes:Construction, including of single living accommodationFacilities management (including planned and reactive maintenance and soft facilities provision)Investment in overseas basing to maintain the MoD’s global footprintEnhancement of the Training Estate and the continued optimisation of the Defence Estate

Hercules Aircraft

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of retiring the C-130J Hercules on the level of capability of the armed forces.

James Cartlidge: I refer the right hon. Member to the Answer I gave him on 23 May 2023 to Question 185494.Hercules Aircraft (docx, 18.4KB)

Guided Weapons

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of when Sea Venom will reach Full Operating Capability.

James Cartlidge: Full Operating Capability will be delivered after the completion of the aircraft certification process, once the full number of aircraft and ships have been modified to carry Sea Venom, and the number of crews required support operating the capability have been trained.

A400M Aircraft

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many technical faults were reported on A400M aircraft in service with the Royal Air Force in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

James Cartlidge: The annual total of individual technical faults is not centrally recorded.

Veterans: Advisory Services

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans have contacted the Veterans Gateway via phone call in each nation and region of the UK in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans contacted the Veterans Gateway via email in each nation and region of the UK in each year since 2019.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans contacted the Veterans Gateway via live chat in each nation and region of the UK in each year since 2019.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people contacted the Veterans Gateway requesting housing support in each year since 2018.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people contacted the Veterans Gateway requesting employment support in each year since 2019.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 6 June 2023 to Question 186791.Veterans: Advisory Services (docx, 22.4KB)

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, as of 5 June 2023, how many complaints his Department received on UK Service Family Accommodation in each region since June 2022.

James Cartlidge: As at 5 June 2023, the total number of complaints received by the Department which relate to Service Family Accommodation by UK region is listed below;  RegionNo of complaintsCentral3,057North1,184South East4,048South West4,434

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many active complaints his Department holds relating to UK Service Family Accommodation in each region as of 5 June 2023.

James Cartlidge: As of 5 June 2023, the total number of active complaints (those yet to be resolved) held by the Department which relate to Service Family Accommodation in each UK region can be found below: Region (no of SFA properties)No of active complaintsPercentage of total complaints received since 5 Jun 22Central (12,007)2300.4%North (7,161)910.3%South East (13,659)4910.7%South West (14,906)5420.7% All complaints remain open until the family confirm the works are completed and that they are satisfied.

Nuclear Submarines: Decommissioning

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many decommissioned nuclear submarines were dismantled in each of the last five calendar years.

James Cartlidge: Good progress continues to be made with dismantling decommissioned submarines in Rosyth. The first stage of dismantling, including the removal of all Low-Level radioactive Waste, has been completed on four platforms, Swiftsure, Resolution, Revenge and Repulse. Swiftsure will be the first submarine to be fully dismantled by the end of 2026.

AUKUS

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his priorities are for pillar two of the Australia – United Kingdom – United States (AUKUS) partnership.

James Cartlidge: Our priority for Pillar Two is to accelerate the delivery of advanced capabilities to our militaries' requirements and enable us to maintain military edge and strategic balance in the Indo-Pacific.

AUKUS

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Minister in his Department has responsibility for developing pillar two of the Australia – United Kingdom – United States (AUKUS) partnership.

James Cartlidge: I have the responsibility for AUKUS Pillar Two.

Nuclear Submarines: Decommissioning

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many decommissioned nuclear submarines are yet to be dismantled as of 1 June 2023.

James Cartlidge: There are 22 decommissioned submarines awaiting disposal as of 1 June 2023.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April to Question 176544 on Afghanistan: Refugees, whether the number of principal applicants with confirmed eligibility for relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy with whom the Department has lost contact since April 2021 is now greater than 54.

James Heappey: The number of eligible principles under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy with whom we have lost contact is currently 74. Of these 41 are, to the best of our knowledge, in Afghanistan.Applicants may fall out of contact with us for a variety of reasons: they may have changed their contact details and not informed us or have decided to relocate elsewhere. We continue to use a range of means to re-establish contact with these applicants in order to continue their relocation to the UK, should they wish to proceed.

Military Aircraft: Fuels

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average fuel consumption rate is for the (a) C130J Hercules and (b) Atlas A400M.

James Cartlidge: The fuel consumption rate for both C-130J Hercules and Atlas depends on a large number of variable factors including temperature, altitude, engine power settings, payload, and All-Up-Weight. Consequently, there is no set metric of average fuel consumption.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total number of outstanding repairs and maintenance tasks his Department holds relating to UK Service Family Accommodation in each region as of 5 June 2023.

James Cartlidge: As at 5 June 2023, the total number of outstanding repair and maintenance tasks the Department holds which relate to Service Family Accommodation in each UK region is listed below: RegionNo of outstanding repair and maintenance tasksCentral1,590North659South East922South West1,430

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many repairs and maintenance tasks have been received by UK Service Family Accommodation providers in each region since June 2022.

James Cartlidge: Between 1 June 2022 – 31 May 2023, the total number of repair and maintenance tasks received by Service Family Accommodation (SFA) providers in each UK region are detailed in the table below: RegionTasksCentral53,849North28,964South East71,095South West75,581  To note, these figures do not include Planned Preventative Maintenance. Each month, on average, there will typically be over 20,000 repair and maintenance tasks raised for the circa 37,000 currently occupied SFA properties; this equates to each home having an average of five to six tasks carried out annually - ranging from changing bulbs in strip lights, grounds maintenance through to boiler repairs.

Trident Submarines: Procurement

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the (a) whole-life programme cost of the Trident successor programme, (b) capital costs associated with (i) submarine acquisition, (ii) Trident missile renewal and (iii) basing facilities, (c) operating costs of the (A) successor fleet and (B) associated capability to protect and sustain that fleet, (d)  future costs associated with the Atomic Weapons Establishment maintaining an on-going nuclear warhead design capability and (e) decommissioning costs for that programme; whether these estimates account for recent increases in inflation; and if he will make a statement.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence co-ordinates a range of interdependent programmes to support, maintain and renew the United Kingdom's independent nuclear deterrent as well as the decommissioning and disposal activities for defence nuclear capabilities when they leave service. The cost of these programmes and activity is spread across many budgetary areas of the Department and has not previously been reported separately. From financial year 2023-24 we will report the majority of nuclear spend as a separate line in the Department's Supply Estimates.

UK Defence Solutions Centre: Finance

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's funding for the UK Defence Solutions Centre.

James Cartlidge: The UK Defence Solutions Centre (UKDSC) is resourced through a Government grant and match funding from the industry members of the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP). The grant funding is set for a three year period closing at the end of financial year 2024-25; the funding level for the next period will be reviewed before that point. The UKDSC delivers a range of market and data analysis products and services which greatly support the Government and industry in delivering export-led growth.

Armed Forces Day

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the merits of the Armed Forces Day Grant.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Armed Forces Day is a chance to show support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving troops to Service families, veterans and cadets. There are many ways for people, communities and organisations across the country to show their support and get involved.The Ministry of Defence (MOD) assesses and distributes grants totalling £375,000 per annum to support both the National and Regional Armed Forces Day events across the country.Each year the MOD partners with the Cabinet Office to undertake maturity self-assurance exercises for these grants, to ensure that the current policy for grants remains up to date and that funds are used for their intended purpose. Compliance gaps have been identified in some areas and so Grant Agreements are now a basic requirement of the standards applied to all Armed Forces Day grants, including all legacy grants which are rolled over year-on-year.

RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many front-line Typhoon aircraft based at (a) RAF Coningsby and (b) RAF Lossiemouth were classified as Aircraft on the ground at midnight on 6 June 2023.

James Cartlidge: I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service families have been required to move out of their Service Family Accommodation properties due to maintenance issues since June 2022.

James Cartlidge: In the period 1 June 2022 to 31 May 2023, a total of 678 families living in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties were booked into temporary hotel accommodation whilst repair works were conducted on their properties. 235 families were moved into permanent alternative SFA as a result of maintenance issues with their original allocated SFA. Temporary accommodation is provided for a number of reasons, including non-habitable faults at move-ins, leaks, heating/hot water issues and total loss of cooking facilities.

Type 31 Frigates: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date each of the five Type 31 frigates ordered by his Department will enter service with the Royal Navy.

James Cartlidge: The first Type 31 frigate, HMS VENTURER, is scheduled to be ready for operations in 2027 and all five ships will be delivered by the end of 2028.For operational security and commercial reasons, the Royal Navy does not disclose the ready for operations dates of all ships in class.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were relocated to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy in (a) March 2023 and (b) April 2023.

James Heappey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on Wednesday 7 June 2023 to Question 187102.Afghanistan: Refugees (docx, 23.0KB)

Ministry of Defence: Written Questions

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to answer Question 185195 tabled by the Rt hon. Member for North Durham on 16 May 2023.

Mr Ben Wallace: I responded to the right hon. Member on 9 June 2023.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Bermuda: Cannabis

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will review the decision to recommend the withholding of Assent to the Bermuda Cannabis Licensing Bill 2022.

David Rutley: The decision to reserve the Bermuda Cannabis Licencing Bill for the signification of Her Majesty was made by the Governor of Bermuda acting in accordance with her Constitutional role, as it appeared to her to be inconsistent with the UK's international obligations. The former Foreign Secretary then considered the Bill and concluded that, as drafted, it was inconsistent with international obligations held by the UK and Bermuda under UN conventions. On that basis, assent could not legitimately be given.The UK is deeply committed to working in partnership with Bermuda and remains available and willing to discuss new proposals on cannabis legislation, to find a way forward that works for Bermuda whilst also remaining within the scope of existing international obligations.

Genocide

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department spent on genocide prevention projects in the financial year 2022-23; and in which countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The FCDO supports a number of genocide prevention projects; however, these tend to be led by our overseas Embassies and High Commissions, be wide ranging and encompass a number of activities. Therefore, the requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.

Hong Kong: Legal Profession

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the amendment to Hong Kong legislation that gives the Chief Executive the power to veto any foreign lawyer from working on cases brought under the 2020 National Security Law.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We have made clear our strong opposition to China's imposition of the National Security Law (NSL), which represents a serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Foreign Secretary set out those views at the UN Human Rights Council on 27 February and with Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng on 5 May. In the latest Six-monthly Report, the Foreign Secretary stated that the recent legislative changes have shifted powers once vested in the judiciary to the Chief Executive. We will monitor closely how these changes will be implemented. As the Foreign Secretary said at Mansion House on 25 April, we will continue to speak out against the clear erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong.

Jimmy Lai

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help Jimmy Lai's access to legal counsel.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: I [Minister for Indo-Pacific] met representatives of Mr Lai's international legal team on 10 January and 24 April. Officials continue to provide support. Diplomats at our Consulate-General in Hong Kong will continue to attend Mr Lai's court proceedings. We are also using our channels with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to raise Mr Lai's situation - the Foreign Secretary last did so with Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng on 5 May.

British National (Overseas): Pensions

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will provide financial assistance to people from Hong Kong living in the UK on British National Overseas visas who have been denied access to their pensions under the Mandatory Provident Fund following changes in legislation by the Chinese Government.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We are aware of the difficulties BN(O)s are experiencing in seeking early withdrawal of their pension held by the Mandatory Provident Fund in Hong Kong. We have urged the Hong Kong authorities to facilitate the early drawdown of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently. BN(O) visa holders have virtually unrestricted access to employment opportunities in the UK and can work at any skill or salary level. We do, however, recognise that people may fall on hard times. Those on the BN(O) route can apply to the Home Office for a change of conditions to have their No Recourse to Public Funds condition lifted in the event they become destitute, are at imminent risk of destitution, there is a risk to the welfare of a child or the applicant is experiencing exception financial circumstances. This allows successful applicants to access support including benefits, tax credits and housing assistance.

Hong Kong: HSBC

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of reports that HSBC has terminated opposition party bank accounts in Hong Kong.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We are aware of these reports. Financial institutions operating in Hong Kong do so within a strict legal and regulatory framework. We will continue to use our channels with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to make clear our strong opposition to the ongoing erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong and China's ongoing non-compliance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Foreign Secretary made plain our views with Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng on 5 May.

Australia: Foreign Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has held meetings with the Agents-General of Australia in the last 12 months.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon joined a reception with the Victorian Agent General and Governor on 4 August 2023. There have been no other meetings with Australian Agents General in the last 12 months.

Russia: Diamonds and Metals

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to coordinate sanctions on Russian-origin (a) diamonds, (b) copper, (c) aluminium and (d) nickel exports with (i) the EU and (ii) other allies.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to block imports of Russian-origin (a) diamonds, (b) copper, (c) aluminium and (d) nickel.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: In 2022 the UK increased import duties by an additional 35 percentage points on a variety of precious and semiprecious stones and metals from Russia and Belarus including rough and polished diamonds. We also designated the Russian state-owned company Alrosa.Our announcement at the G7 in May goes further and we will legislate later this year to end imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel. As with all our Sanctions measures, we continue to work closely with our G7 partners to further align and coordinate their implementation and enforcement.

Hong Kong: Human Rights

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to help ensure that the authorities of (a) China and (b) Hong Kong implement the findings of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, published on 23 July 2022, on the (i) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and (ii) National Security Law.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We welcomed last year's UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) report on Hong Kong's implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which makes clear the damage the National Security Law (NSL) has done to rights and freedoms in Hong Kong. In his statement to the UN Human Rights Council on 27 February and our latest Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong, the Foreign Secretary called on the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities to implement the HRC's recommendations, including by removing the NSL. As the Foreign Secretary said at Mansion House on 25 April, we will continue to speak out against the clear erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong.

China: Abortion

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Chinese counterpart on forced and coercive abortions in China.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We are aware of reports of forced abortions and forced sterilisation in Xinjiang, and we regularly raise the situation in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary did so with the Vice President of China on 5 May 2023.The UK Government has led international efforts to hold China to account; on 31 October 2022, concerted UK lobbying efforts helped secure the support of a record 50 countries for a joint statement on China's human rights violations in Xinjiang. We will continue to act with international partners to bring about a change in China's actions, and immediately end its appalling human rights violations in Xinjiang.

China: Abortion

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether UK overseas development assistance provided to (a) International Planned Parenthood Federation, (b) United Nations Family Planning Association and (c) other organisations was used to carry out forced and coercive abortions in China.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: No UK overseas development assistance funds forced or coercive abortions in China. The UK proudly defends and promotes universal and comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) globally, providing international aid to trusted multilateral organisations such as International and Planned Parenthood Federation and United Nations Family Planning Association to help deliver this important work and help people, especially women and girls, have control of their bodies. We have a stringent due diligence process in our programming and partnerships to ensure our SRHR interventions are rights-based, voluntary and legal. We expect and have full confidence in our partners to align with this approach.

Disease Control: International Cooperation

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that negotiations on an international agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response do not unduly constrain domestic decisions about public health matters in a future pandemic.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is clear that we would not sign up to any legally binding instrument that would compromise the UK's ability to take domestic decisions on national measures concerning public health. Decisions such as these will remain the sole competency of the UK Government. The UK, and other Member States, have flagged this as a priority. The UK is playing an active role in shaping this instrument, to deliver on the UK's global health priorities and protect the health of people in the UK and around the world from future pandemics.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost of (a) accommodation and (b) meals was for (i) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (ii) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme cases in Pakistan between 1 April 2022 and 30 May 2023.

Leo Docherty: The cost incurred by HMG in providing accommodation and meals, between April 2022 and May 2023, to individuals eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy was approximately £18.7 million, and under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 3 was approximately £480,000.

Murad Akbar

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the release of Murad Akbar in Pakistan.

Leo Docherty: We are aware of reports of detainments in Pakistan and continue to monitor the situation closely. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, spoke to the High Commissioner for Pakistan to the UK, Moazzam Ahmad Khan, on 9 May and to Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, on 10 and 13 May, where he emphasised the importance of peaceful democratic rights, including the right to protest, adherence to the rule of law, and transparency in legal processes. Where there are allegations of human rights violations, we expect these to be fully investigated in line with international human rights law.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many (a) principals and (b) dependents with confirmed eligibility for relocation to the UK from the (i) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (ii) Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme are housed in hotel accommodation in (A) Pakistan and (B) other third countries.

Leo Docherty: As of 6 June, there are approximately 257 principals and 1,206 dependents being supported in Pakistan and 10 principals and 30 dependents being supported in other third countries eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. There are approximately 109 principals and 381 dependents being supported in Pakistan and 16 principals and 55 dependents being supported in other third countries eligible under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 3.

Nigeria: Freedom of Religion

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure the Nigerian Government upholds freedom of religion and belief.

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of the UK-Nigeria partnership on (a) strengthening human rights and (b) supporting efforts to (i) uphold security and (ii) prevent violence against Christians in Nigeria.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Insecurity is impacting Nigerian communities of all faiths and undermining freedom of religion or belief, including in predominately Christian areas. I [Andrew Mitchell] raised the effects of rising insecurity on communities with then presidential candidate Bola Tinubu, in December 2022. The UK is funding peacebuilding projects in several Nigerian states which support community reconciliation by training peace ambassadors and faith leaders. Through our UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership, we monitor the progress and effectiveness of our support to Nigeria to tackle insecurity and promote human rights. The UK Government looks forward to continuing this partnership at the next annual dialogue later this year. We will continue to help tackle insecurity and promote human rights, and to encourage the Nigerian Government to assist affected communities and implement long-term solutions.

Disease Control: Development Aid

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department are taking to help restore access to immunisation services around the world.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted global health and immunisation. The UK Government is committed to supporting efforts to get routine immunisation back on track and has committed £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance from 2021-2025 to support their mission to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases over this period. Alongside our Gavi investment, we are committed to working with countries and with the wider international community to focus efforts on building stronger primary health systems for the future as a core part of restoring immunisation services around the world.

East Africa: Humanitarian Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the press release entitled UK pledges support for over a million people in East Africa, published by his Department on 24 May 2023, what assessment has he made of the impact of changes in the levels of humanitarian aid to the East Africa region on levels of acute hunger.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK supports the development and use of high-quality food security analyses such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) System.In some contexts, such as Somalia, humanitarian agencies predict possible and moderate improvements in food security as a result of sustained humanitarian assistance and improved rainfall. Elsewhere in Kenya, above average rainfall may lead to improved food security in coming months if conditions support recovery of the livestock sector.However, the situation across East Africa remains extremely challenging as the severity of the drought and ongoing conflict in many areas haves eroded the resilience of communities and with impediments to the delivery of aid. In Sudan the humanitarian crisis has worsened dramatically as a result of the conflict and its spill-over effects have the potential to exacerbate humanitarian needs across a highly vulnerable region.

Developing Countries: Vaccination

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase access to vaccines in the global south.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government has pledged £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance from 2021-2025 to support their mission to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases over this period. Alongside our Gavi investment, we are committed to working with countries and with the wider international community to focus efforts on building stronger primary health systems for the future as a core part of bolstering immunisation services around the world.The UK also supports the expansion of vaccine manufacturing and is working with international and regional partners to catalyse strategic investments for vaccine manufacturing in low- and middle-income countries.

East Africa: Food Supply

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people experiencing acute hunger in (a) Kenya, (b) Somalia, (c) Ethiopia and (d) South Sudan in each year since 2017.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Global Report on Food Crises provides annualised figures on food security across the world, including for countries in East Africa, since 2016. The latest report can be found here: https://www.fsinplatform.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/GRFC2023-hi-res.pdfThe most recent figures show that the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity in 2022 were:a) Kenya - 4.4 millionb) Somalia - 5.59 millionc) Ethiopia - 23.6 milliond) South Sudan - 7.7 million

Uganda: HIV Infection

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) implications for his policies of trends in HIV/AIDS infections in Uganda and (b) adequacy of the impact of UK funded work in that field in that country.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is the third largest donor to the Global Fund, having contributed £4.4 billion since its inception. Last year, the UK committed to providing a further £1 billion over three years to the Global Fund which will help to reach three million members of key populations, including LGBT+ groups, worldwide with prevention programmes.The UK is helping to tackle HIV/AIDS in Uganda by providing targeted prevention, testing and treatment services through the Global Fund which procures 30 percent of HIV medicines used in Uganda. The UK's focus is on prevention, equity and stronger health systems, alongside championing human rights.We are proud to have played a strong role in shaping the progressive Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Global AIDS Strategy "Ending Inequalities" 2021-26 setting an ambitious UN target to end AIDS by 2030.

Developing Countries: Interest Rates

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help mitigate the impact of increases in interest rates on the debt repayments of developing countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The impact of changes in interest rates for developing countries' debt will depend on the terms of that debt, and any new debt they take on.Those with the highest risk of debt distress receive grants from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).The Government is pressing for all creditors to offer loans with Climate Resilient Debt Clauses, which pause repayments if there is a natural disaster. UK Export Finance (UKEF) is the first export credit agency to offer these.The Government will continue to work with its international partners in the Paris Club and the G20 to urgently address debt vulnerabilities in developing countries.

Sudan: British Nationals Abroad

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the number of British nationals located in Sudan; and what proportion of those nationals are children.

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to provide ongoing assistance to help British nationals leave Sudan.

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help expedite safe passage to the UK for Sudanese dependents of British nationals.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Between the 15 April and 3 May, the UK supported the departure of 2,450 people, including British nationals, dependants and other eligible nationals. The British Embassy in Khartoum is temporarily closed and the UK Government is only able to provide limited consular assistance to British Nationals still in Sudan, communicating through our telephone consular helpline and Travel Advice updates. We do not have verified data on those British nationals (including children) remaining in Sudan. Those who have left by alternative means to neighbouring countries are receiving consular support on a case-by-case basis. British nationals who require assistance can call us 24/7. Sudanese nationals who have travelled to a third country and wish to join family members in the UK will need to apply for a visa, if they do not already have the right to enter the UK. Further information can be found online at GOV.UK.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to secure a (a) cease fire and (b) peace agreement in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Since conflict erupted in Sudan on 15 April, we have pursued all diplomatic avenues to end the violence, de-escalate tensions and secure humanitarian access. This includes at the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council, and through cooperation with counterparts from African, Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK, US) and European countries. We regret the withdrawal of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) from the ceasefire talks , but welcome that the delegations from the SAF and Rapid Support Forces remain in Jeddah. The UK stands ready to support efforts to agree a new ceasefire, with the aim of reaching a permanent cessation of hostilities. The UK is now working through a new African Union-led Core Group aimed at getting the parties to the conflict back the negotiating table. The UK continues to advocate for a return to a civilian-led government in Sudan. We urge all Sudanese stakeholders to end hostilities and engage urgently in an inclusive dialogue that will deliver the peace and stability that the Sudanese people deserve.

Malawi: Development Aid

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing (a) Official Development Assistance to Malawi, (b) funding for programmes to build climate change resilience and (c) Official Development Assistance to 0.7 per cent of GDP.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The FCDO's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations are set out in my [Andrew Mitchell] Written Ministerial Statement of 30 March. We plan to publish full breakdowns of the allocations, including by country, in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023. Allocations are regularly reviewed to respond to changing global needs to ensure ODA is being used most effectively.We remain committed to doubling our International Climate Finance to £11.6 billion between 2021/22 and 2025/26 and to balancing our funding between mitigation and adaptation. This will include programmes that seek to build the resilience of those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.The Government is committed to returning to spending to 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) on ODA as soon as the fiscal situation allows. We will return to spending 0.7 per cent of GNI on ODA when, on a sustainable basis, the government is no longer borrowing for day-to-day spending and when underlying debt is falling.

Greece: EOKA

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Greek Cypriot counterpart on the President's recent statements on the historic role of the Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston.

Leo Docherty: The Foreign Secretary has not had any recent discussions with his Greek Cypriot counterpart on President Christodoulides's recent statements on the historic role of the Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA/eɪˈoʊkə). The UK Government deeply regrets the suffering endured by both communities as a result of inter-communal violence during the Cyprus Emergency (1955-1959). We continue to believe a just and lasting settlement on the island is the best chance of resolving these complex issues. The UK's commitment to helping the sides achieve this remains unwavering.

Sports: Belarus and Russia

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for the Government's policies on Russia of granting visas to (a) Russian and (b) Belarussian athletes to compete at (i) Queen's Club, (ii) Wimbledon and (iii) other sporting events.

Leo Docherty: The UK Government stands in solidarity with Ukraine. We condemn the Russian Government's unprovoked and barbaric attack against Ukraine and the Belarusian state's support for Russia's actions. Our argument is not with the Russian or Belarusian people, but with their governments. As such, individual, self-funded Russian and Belarusian athletes not representing their states can compete in the UK, subject to following Government neutrality guidance. The Government expects sports governing bodies and organisers to require Russian and Belarusian athletes to sign a neutrality statement before issuing a formal invitation to participate.

British Virgin Islands: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assistance his Department is providing to the British Virgin Islands for hurricane preparedness.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding his Department has provided for hurricane preparedness in the British Virgin Islands in each of the last five years.

David Rutley: The UK Government has worked closely with the British Virgin Islands (BVI) Government over the last five years to improve hurricane preparedness. In 2018 the UK provided BVI over £740,000 of equipment such as generators, dumper trucks and repairs equipment. Since then a further £120,000 has been provided for training, communications and development of an Early Warning System mobile app. Royal Navy ships have also deployed to the Caribbean during the period, for instance HMS Dauntless this year.In addition, Darwin Plus has allocated over £1 million for projects that will directly support or contribute towards hurricane resilience in the BVI and the UK's Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Programme, funded by the Integrated Security Fund, has provided over £250,000 for capacity building and technical advice on climate related resilience for BVI.

British Overseas Territories: Parliament

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of representation in Parliament for the British Overseas Territories; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: The UK has a longstanding and deep relationship with all of its Overseas Territories based on partnership and shared values as reaffirmed at the Joint Ministerial Council in May and reflected in the Communiqué [2023 UK and Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council communiqué - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)]. No Territory has formally raised the idea of formal representation in this House and we do not plan on making assessment on UK parliamentary representation for Overseas Territories. The UK Government believes that the fundamental structure of our constitutional relationships with the Overseas Territories is the right one. Powers are devolved to the elected governments of the Territories to the maximum extent possible, consistent with the UK retaining those powers necessary to discharge its sovereign responsibilities.

Home Office

Asylum: Children

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are accommodated in hotels.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children who have gone missing from hotel accommodation remain unaccounted for as of 7 June 2023.

Robert Jenrick: We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.There are currently no unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in hotels and there are 154 UASC still missing. If any child goes missing the MARS (Missing After Reasonable Steps) protocol is followed. A multi-agency, missing persons meeting is chaired by the local authority to establish the young person's whereabouts and to ensure that they are safe. Similar protocols within police forces have safely reduced the number of missing episodes from placements by 36%.The Home Office continue to work with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe and the Police are responsible for locating any missing children.

Passports: British National (Overseas)

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to issue guidance to (a) HSBC and (b) other UK-based pension providers on acceptance of a British National Overseas passport as a valid document for accessing the pension assets of Hong Kongers who have moved to the UK.

Robert Jenrick: We are aware of the difficulties British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders are experiencing in seeking early withdrawal of their pension held by the Mandatory Provident Fund in Hong Kong. The root of the problem is the Chinese Government's decision not to recognise the BN(O) passport as a valid identity document in Hong Kong. The UK firmly opposes the discrimination of BN(O)s in this way. We have urged the Hong Kong authorities to facilitate the early drawdown of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) principals and (b) dependants have been relocated from Afghanistan to the UK through the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme under (i) Pathway 2 and (ii) Pathway 3 since June 2022.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been referred by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number individuals who have accessed English language courses for Afghan settlers and their dependents under Operation Warm Welcome.

Robert Jenrick: The UK has made one of the largest commitments of any country to support those impacted by events in Afghanistan. Whilst public data on separating principals and dependants is not available, the latest Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2023 - GOV.UK (published on 25 May 2023), show that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people. A breakdown in these statistics by ACRS pathway, shows that we have now resettled: 9,059 individuals under ACRS Pathway 1, 40 individuals under ACRS Pathway 2 and 14 individuals under ACRS Pathway 3. There are currently no published statistics on UNHCR referrals, and we do not hold public data on the volume of referrals from UNHCR. The Home Office does not hold centralised data on the number of individuals who have accessed English language courses for Afghan settlers and their dependents under Operation Warm Welcome. Councils with bridging hotels in their area have been commissioned by the Home Office to deliver hotel wraparound support to people on the Afghan resettlement schemes. As part of this wraparound support, Local Authorities should provide English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) support for residents to support integration and enable guests to move on to permanent accommodation and settle into new communities, access jobs and services. A dedicated cross-government casework team, made up of Home Office Liaison Officers and DWP staff, are based in hotels and work alongside local authority officials to provide advice to Afghans, including information on how to rent in the private sector, support people to find jobs and access English language training.

Visas: Applications

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of introducing an appeals process for rejected visa applications made abroad.

Robert Jenrick: There are no plans to estimate the cost to the public purse on introducing appeals processes for refused visa applications.

Overseas Students: English Language

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many students suspected by ETS of cheating in its TOEIC English language test were (a) offered (i) the opportunity to retake the test or (ii) a credibility interview and (b) granted leave on the basis of subsequently passing a test or credibility interview in each of the last three years.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not publish ETS data for any of the last three years as part of the Immigration Systems statistics. All cases affected by ETS must follow the current guidance published on 18 November 2020: Educational Testing Service (ETS): casework instructions (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Immigration Controls

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time it takes for passport checks at the border.

Robert Jenrick: Border Force have robust plans in place to deploy officers flexibly to support passenger flow and to help minimise wait times and queues at the UK border. Border Force’s number one priority is to keep our borders safe and secure for all passengers, and we will not compromise on this.   We are working closely with all UK ports and airports to ensure passengers have the smoothest possible journey.

Passports: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish her Department's rationale for requiring people from Northern Ireland to submit a physical copy of their Irish passport when applying for or renewing a British passport.

Robert Jenrick: His Majesty’s Passport Office’s requirement for all customers to submit any other passport held (British or otherwise) when applying for a British Passport enables confirmation of identity and consistent name usage of all customers. This requirement is not limited to customers applying from Northern Ireland.A colour photocopy of any other passport held may be accepted in some circumstances, including where the original passport is not available or the customer is unable to provide it, and can usually be accepted for applications to renew a British passport. Published guidance will soon be updated to make this clearer.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghans have been provided with rapid mental health support through Operation Warm Welcome as of 6 June 2023; and what the average waiting period was for that support.

Robert Jenrick: Through Operation Warm Welcome, Afghans who come to the UK under the ARAP and ACRS schemes are supported in accessing vital healthcare. The latest Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2023 - GOV.UK (published on 25 May 2023), show that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people.Upon arrival, individuals are registered with a GP or are being helped to do so. A full range of support services are offered including mental health support. The Home Office does not hold information on number of Afghans provided with mental health support.

Fraud: Internet

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle online fraud.

Tom Tugendhat: Last month, the government published a new strategy to address the threat of fraud. One of the three pillars included in the strategy focuses on blocking frauds from happening in the first place, which includes actions to prevent online fraud. This includes ensuring the tech sector take fraud seriously and put in place extra protections for their customers, shining a light on which platforms are the safest and that companies are properly incentivised to combat fraud. We are working with tech companies to create an online fraud charter which will include a number of voluntary actions to help design out fraud.The Online Safety Bill will also tackle online harms, including fraud and fraudulent advertising. This means that social media and search engine companies will have to take robust, proactive action to ensure that their users are not exposed to these crimes in the first place. We expect this to have a strong impact on some of the highest harm fraud types.We are replacing the Action Fraud service to create a more efficient new system that will provide better intelligence to forces. Improvements include:Increasing the number of staff in the call centreExpanding the reach of victim care services, including for the most vulnerableSending cases to forces faster and better progress updates on casesThese improvements, which have been tested across the victim support landscape, law enforcement agencies, and other relevant bodies, will improve the support services and reporting tools for victims, provide greater intelligence and insight to policing for investigations, and allow for greater proactive work to prevent and disrupt fraudsters at scale.

Proscribed Organisations: Russia

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of designating (a) all private military organisations fighting on behalf of the Russian government in Ukraine and (b) their financial backers as terrorist organisations.

Tom Tugendhat: Whilst the Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription.The Government remains concerned about Russia's use of private military companies such as the Wagner Group. We take the provision of mercenaries and other military support to parties in conflicts such as Libya, Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere very seriously. We continue to work closely with our international partners to counter Russian malign activity and respond to actions that undermine the rules based international system.Both individuals and entities can be designated under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. Our package of sanctions in support of Ukraine targets those aiding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the owner and financier of Wagner Group, Wagner Group (as an entity), and several senior members of Wagner Group are subject to UK sanctions, both for their involvement in the Libyan civil war which contravened the United Nations arms embargo established by UNSC Resolution 1970 (2011); and for being engaged in actions or policies that destabilise Ukraine, or threaten its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or independence. Figures released by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in November 2022 reveal that over £18 billion of Russian assets have been frozen since the most recent invasion of Ukraine.

Public Order Act 1986

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many operationally independent forces are providing data on section 12 and section 14 Public Order Act conditions as part of the Annual Data Requirement; if she will make it her policy to publish any data provided on an annual basis and in a searchable format, broken down by each use of Section 12 and 14 powers and including details of the protest, the circumstances that led to the imposition of restrictions, what they were, whether arrests were made and how many people were arrested; and if she will make a statement

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason she has not required operationally independent forces to provide data on section 12 and section 14 Public Order Act conditions as part of the Annual Data Requirement

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria she plans to use to determine whether the Home Office will (a) collate and (b) publish in a searchable publicly accessible database data from all operationally independent forces on section 12 and section 14 Public Order Act conditions; what the time frame for making this determination will be; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Second Report of Session 2021-22 of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Legislative Scrutiny: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, Part 3 (Public Order), published on 22 June 2021, HC 331, what recent discussions she has had with the National Police Chiefs' Council on the recommendation in paragraph 93 of that Report; what support her Department has provided to the Council to help fulfil that recommendation; when she expects the recommendation to be met; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Fifth Special Report of Session 2021-22 of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Legislative Scrutiny: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, Part 3 (Public Order): Government Response to the Committee’s Second Report, published on 21 October 2021, HC 734, with reference to the Government’s response to para 93 of the JCHR Legislative Scrutiny: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, Part 3 (Public Order), published on 22 June 2021, whether the decision to collate and publish national data on use of Section 12 and 14 powers is the responsibility of her Department.

Chris Philp: As part of the 2023-24 Annual Data Requirement (ADR), the Home Office introduced a new mandatory requirement for police forces in England and Wales to record data on the use of section 12, 14 and 14ZA under the Public Order Act 1986 (1986 Act). The ADR also included a request for retrospective data on the use of these powers for the period of 28 June 2022 to 31 March 2023.As part of this data collection, information is being requested on: the date and time of the protest; the conditions imposed; the triggers; the theme of the protests/assembly; demographic information such as age, sex and ethnicity; the level of authorisation and the number of resultant arrests.Data will be collected from police forces in due course and the intention is to publish this data in the Summer of 2024. As is usual for all data collections, Home Office analysts will assess the quality of the data collected before making a decision on which information will be included for publication on GOV.UK.The section 12, 14, and 14ZA ADR was developed in collaboration with National Police Coordination Centre, who are overseen by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.In addition, the Home Office will prepare and publish a report on the operation of sections 12, 14, and 14ZA of the 1986 Act as amended by sections 73, 74, and 79 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This will be published and laid before Parliament by 28 June 2024.

Shoplifting

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) reports of, (b) charges for and (c) convictions for shoplifting in (i) Preston and (ii) England there were in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) incidents of and (b) arrests for shoplifting were recorded in each police force across England in each of the last three years.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects information on the number of recorded offences for shoplifting and their investigative outcomes from police forces in England and Wales. These can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesData for the Preston Community Safety Partnership Area and England can be found in the table below:Number of recorded offences of shoplifting and charges, by calendar year:Recorded CrimesCharges 202020212022202020212022Preston7358981,2149364102England*240,157238,097291,12045,60435,38143,592* - Figures for England exclude Devon & Cornwall and British Transport PoliceThe Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions for the offence ’46 Theft from shops’ in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2022, which can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2022Information about the number of convictions by Community Safety Partnership (CSP) is not available. Police Force Area-level breakdowns are available in this tool, though note this will relate to the location of the convicting court which differ from where the offence took place.The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests made by police forces in England and Wales, these are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-stop-and-search-and-arrests-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2022However, these data are only collected and published at the broader offence level, for example 'theft offences', therefore more detailed breakdowns such as 'shoplifting' are not available.

Road Traffic Offences: Speed Limits

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many speeding offences were recorded in (a) 2020 and (b) 2022.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences in England and Wales on an annual basis. The most recent data, up to 2021, is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118166/fixed-penalty-notices-and-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-and-procedures-year-ending-31-december-2021.odsIn 2020, there were 2,006,382 speed limit offences recorded on the central PentiP system in England and Wales (excludes British Transport Police). However this figure may be an underestimation since Durham, North Wales, South Wales, Gwent, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire forces do not record all outcomes on the PentiP system.Data for 2022 will be published in November/December of 2023, and is pre-announced on gov.uk here: Police powers and procedures: Other PACE powers, England and Wales, year ending March 2023 - National statistics announcement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The number of FPNs and other outcomes given for speed limit offences increased by 34% between 2011 and 2020.

Visas: Overseas Students

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of dependent study visas were granted by her Department to students undertaking taught postgraduate courses in the last three years.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of dependent study visas were granted by her Department to students undertaking research postgraduate courses in the last three years.

Robert Jenrick: Our published data on dependent study visas can be found in the available Migration Statistics on GOV.UK, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2022/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-to-study

Animal Experiments: Cosmetics

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to revoke existing licences for testing cosmetics ingredients on animals issued between 2019 and 2022.

Tom Tugendhat: The Government is engaging with the relevant companies to urgently determine a way forward on legacy licences.

Illegal Migration Bill

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) she and (b) officials in her Department have met Departments in Northern Ireland to discuss implementation of the Illegal Migration Bill.

Robert Jenrick: I have corresponded with the Permanent Secretaries of the Northern Ireland Department of Justice and The Executive Office on a number of occasions since the introduction of the Illegal Migration Bill. Home Office officials have also engaged regularly with their counterparts in the Department and Justice and The Executive Office about the Bill, including one meeting with officials in The Executive Office. We will continue to engage, as appropriate, with relevant Northern Ireland departments on the implementation of the Bill in Northern Ireland.

Illegal Migration Bill

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Illegal Migration Bill on waitiing times for National Referrals Mechanism decisions.

Robert Jenrick: The objective of the modern slavery provisions in the Illegal Migration Bill is to address the serious and immediate threat to public order in the UK, arising from exceptional circumstances relating to the illegal entry and dangerous journeys made by individuals into the UK which creates additional pressure on public services.We will continue to monitor NRM waiting times and the impact the Bill will have. We regularly publish statistics on NRM decision making. You can access the latest NRM stats here.

Visas

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to stop foreign nationals overstaying their right to reside in the UK on each visa route.

Robert Jenrick: We take robust action against those who abuse the conditions of their visa.Any individuals abusing their visa are liable to be removed from the UK under section 10(1) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.A person who knowingly overstays their permission to enter or stay is, under section 24(C1) of the Immigration Act 1971, guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction with an unlimited fine, or with imprisonment for not more than four years, or with both.

Asylum: Hotels

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Thousands of asylum seekers to be moved out of hotels, published on 5 June 2023, what site in West London is being used to house asylum seekers; what hotels her Department plans to use to accommodate asylum seekers in (a) Hammersmith and Fulham and (b) Kensington and Chelsea; and what her Department's planned timescales are for the use of those sites to house asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick: The specific location of any of our asylum accommodation is not put in the public domain in order to maintain the privacy and security of those accommodated.

Visas: Ukraine

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2023 to Question 185901 on Visas: Ukraine, for what reason her Department is not planning to take steps to run a further online survey which produces higher quality and reliable data.

Robert Jenrick: There are particular challenges in obtaining a representative response from a population of this type.The latest published statistics on Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and Ukraine Extension Scheme visa data are available here: Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) and Ukraine Extension Scheme visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Police and Police Community Support Officers: Wandsworth

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers there were in (i) Balham ward, (ii) Trinity ward, (iii) Tooting Bec ward, (iv) Tooting Broadway ward, (v) Furzedown ward, (vi) Wandsworth Common ward, (vii) Wandle ward, (viii) South Balham ward and (ix) Wandsworth Town ward in the London Borough of Wandsworth in 2022.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.These data are collected by PFA only, and lower levels of geography, such as London Boroughs are not collected. Data on the number of police officers and Police Community Support Officers in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) as at 31 March and 30 September each year, on a full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount basis, accessed here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).While the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office publishes a quarterly update on the number of police officers (headcount terms only) in England and Wales, also broken down by PFA. They can be accessed here: Police Officer uplift statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).The latest data from the ‘Police Officer Uplift’ statistics shows, as at 31 March 2023, across England and Wales, there are 149,572 police officers, the highest number of police officers on record, surpassing the previous peak in March 2010 by 3,542 officers.

Asylum: Children

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have been transferred to each local authority in Wales in each month since the National Transfer Scheme became mandatory.

Robert Jenrick: Ministers made the decision to mandate participation in the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) and directed local authorities in Wales to participate on 14 December 2021.Mandatory NTS transfers began 14 December 2021, with any transfers since 23 November 2021 counting towards local authorities' allocations under the mandated scheme.NTS data is published at RASI (Resettlement, Asylum Support and Integration) data: Q1 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The National Transfer Scheme has seen 4,388 children transferred to local authorities between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2023. Of the 4,388 children transferred in this period, 223 were transferred to local authorities in Wales. It is not possible to split the data into different local authority areas within Wales.As the data is published quarterly, it is also not possible to split out the number of transfers from a specific date mid quarter. Therefore, some of the 223 children quoted may have been transferred under the voluntary scheme in the weeks prior to when the NTS was mandated (between 1 October 2021 and 23 November 2021).

Asylum: Applications

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were awaiting an initial decision on their asylum application on (a) 1 March, (b) 1 April, (c) 1 May and (d) 1 June 2023.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on people awaiting an initial decision on their asylum application in the ‘Immigration system statistics quarterly release’. Data on the number of people awaiting an initial decision on their asylum applications is published in Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum and resettlement datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the 31st March 2023.Figures for asylum applications awaiting a decision as at 30 April and 28 May 2023 can be found in table IMB_02 of the ‘Statistics Relating to the Illegal Migration Bill’ release. The latest data relates to 28 May 2023. Please note that the figures in table IMB_02 have not been cleansed and thus may contain duplicates and the data represents cases awaiting an initial decision and not the total number of people awaiting an initial decision.Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the Research and Statistics Calendar.

Demonstrations: Travel

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the proportion of journeys in the UK that have been disrupted by a lawful protest in the last 12 months.

Chris Philp: Just Stop Oil have engaged in repeated protests across London, involving a total of 124 slow walks. These have caused immense frustration for those ordinary people trying to go about their daily lives. They have resulted in the use of over 12,500 police officer shifts, diverting police attention away from our local communities. In 2022, Just Stop Oil were responsible for over 75 days of turmoil, the police response to this cost the taxpayer over £14.5 million.The dangerous tactics used by Just Stop Oil on the M25 resulted in significant backlogs, meaning tens of thousands of drivers were gridlocked for hours. National Highways have stated that these methods cause significant economic harm, disruption, and inconvenience to the general public.The Public Order Act 2023 received royal assent on 2 May and introduces new measures which improve the police’s ability to manage highly disruptive protests and take a proactive approach to prevent such disruption happening in the first place. For example, the lock-on offence and the associated stop and search power will allow the police to pro-actively prevent the selfish minority of protesters causing serious disruption on our roads.A statutory instrument has been presented to further define the term ‘serious disruption’ and will provide the police with greater clarity over when to intervene with public assemblies and processions to prevent serious disruption to the life of the community.

Asylum: Applications

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of asylum claims made before the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 came into force have been decided on.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications in the Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum claims before and after the Nationality and Borders act came into force are published in table Asy_10 of the Asylum and resettlement summary tables.Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to snapshot data as at the 31st March 2023. The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on asylum and resettlement.Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Travel Requirements: Applications

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the administration cost to the public purse of each Electronic Travel Authorisation application; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: On 6 June, I set in a Written Ministerial Statement (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-06-06/hcws821), that the proposed fee for an ETA application is £10.00. This is set at a level that will cover the costs of administering the system and is competitive compared with similar international schemes by international partners. It is the government’s policy that those who use and benefit most from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating the system, reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.The estimated cost of administering each ETA application will be published when the ETA fee is formally set in the Immigration and Nationality Fees Regulations in Autumn 2023.

Antisocial Behaviour

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police officers are able to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Chris Philp: On 27 March we published the ASB Action Plan. The ASB Action Plan commits to tackling ASB across five key themes: stronger punishment, making communities safer, building local pride, prevention and early intervention, improving data, reporting and accountability for action.This plan is backed by £160m of funding. This includes up to £60m to fund an increased police and other uniformed presence to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, targeting hotspots. Initially we will work with 10 police force areas, including Cleveland, but from 2024 will support a hotspot approach across every police force area in England and Wales.We are also providing up to £50m to support the provision of Immediate Justice, by issuing out of court disposals with conditions to swiftly repair any damage – the aim being for them to start within 48 hours of the offence. This will start in 10 initial trailblazer police force areas, including Cleveland and be rolled out across England and Wales from 2024.As part of the Action Plan, we are also giving the police and local authorities more tools to tackle the problem – increasing on the spot fines for graffiti and fly tipping, filling empty shops, restoring local parks, and regenerating local green spaces.Cleveland Police has recruited 267 additional uplift police officers against a total three-year allocation of 239 officers, as at 31 March 2023. Cleveland Police’s funding will be up to £162.1m in 2023/24, an increase of up to £5.1m when compared to 2022/23.The Office for National Statistics annually publishes anti-social behaviour incidents reported to the police by Police Force Area and no further lower level breakdown is currently available. There are plans to publish new Community Safety Partnership (CSP) breakdowns later this year. The latest available data covering year to March 2022 can be found here: Crime in England and Wales: Police Force Area data tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

English Channel: Surveillance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June to Question 187056 on English Channel: Surveillance, what her Department's budget was for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations over the English Channel in each of the last five financial years.

Robert Jenrick: This complex operating and budgetary landscape means that the question could only be definitively answered at a disproportionate cost.

Police and Police Community Support Officers: Wandsworth

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers there were in (i) Bedford, (ii) Nightingale, (iii) Tooting, (iv) Graveney, (v) Furzedown, (vi) Wandsworth Common and (vii) Earlsfield ward in the London Borough of Wandsworth in 2010.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), on a biannual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).These data are collected by PFA only, and lower levels of geography, such as London Boroughs are not collected. Data on the number of police officers and Police Community Support Officers in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) as at 31 March each year, from 2007 to 2022, on a full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount basis, can be found in the ‘Workforce Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1093587/open-data-table-police-workforce-270722.odsWhile the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office publishes a quarterly update on the number of police officers (headcount terms only) in England and Wales, also broken down by PFA. The latest data as at 31 March 2023 are available here: Police Officer Uplift, quarterly update to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).The latest data from the ‘Police Officer Uplift’ statistics shows, as at 31 March 2023, across England and Wales, there are 149,572 police officers, the highest number of police officers on record, surpassing the previous peak in March 2010 by 3,542 officers.

Entry Clearances: Applications

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time is for Entry Clearance applications submitted on the basis of family reunion from (a) Syrian, (b) Afghan and (c) Ukrainian refugees.

Robert Jenrick: Information regarding processing times and nationality of applicants is not routinely published and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. We prioritise all applications where the application has been made by an unaccompanied child, under the age of 18. We will also prioritise applications where there is an evidenced urgent or compelling reason.

Asylum: Applications

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many decisions made during the first quarter of 2023 by her Department on legacy asylum applications made before 28 June 2022 resulted in a (a) Grant of Protection and (b) Grant of Other Leave; and how many such applications were (i) refused and (ii) withdrawn.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions made on legacy asylum applications made before 28 June 2022 can be found in table Asy_10 of the ‘asylum and resettlement summary tables’. The latest data relates to as at 31 March 2023. Data for as at 30 June 2023 will be published on 24 August 2023. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Electronic Cigarettes: Smuggling

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an estimate of the amount of illegal vaping products seized at UK ports.

Robert Jenrick: Border Force does not hold the data in an easily accessible format. The latest transparency returns can be found at the link here Border Force transparency data: Q1 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

British Nationality: Ceremonies

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time is between an invitation to a successful applicant citizenship ceremony and the ceremony.

Robert Jenrick: Applicants normally have a three-month window during which to take the ceremony, but we cannot separate out data on the time taken to complete the process within that window.

Asylum: RAF Scampton

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of housing asylum seekers at RAF Scrampton on historical buildings at that site.

Robert Jenrick: RAF Scampton played a vital role in the Second World War and the Home Office has been clear that we will preserve and enhance the heritage feature of Scampton.We have undertaken significant engagement with Historic England and will create an Operational Management Plan (OMP) which will set out clear actions and responsibilities to protect the heritage assets at RAF Scampton. A regularly updated Factsheet on RAF Scampton can be found at Factsheet: RAF Scampton asylum accommodation (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Overseas Students

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of international students arriving with dependents are (a) male and (b) female

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of limiting the ability for international students not on a research postgraduate course to bring dependents on women's (a) access to and (b) participation in higher education in the UK.

Robert Jenrick: We consider our Public Sector Equality Duty in the development of all policy, and an Equality Impact Assessment was produced and considered in developing this package of reforms. We consider any indirect impact to be proportionate in achieving our overall aim of reducing net migration and only allowing dependants to a specific cohort of students with the types of skills the UK is specifically seeking to attract to assist economic growth. We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities.

Trade Agreements: Australia

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans that the changes in the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement  to eligibility terms and conditions for (a) Australia’s Working Holiday Maker and (b) the Youth Mobility schemes will be introduced.

Robert Jenrick: The UK and Australia have agreed to enhance our respective Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) and Working Holiday (WH) programmes.For Australian passport holders looking to take advantage of the UK’s YMS, the age range will be increased from 18-30 to 18-35 and they will have the option of extending their YMS visa for an additional year, taking the total length of stay in the UK from 2 to 3 years. These changes are set to be implemented on 31 January 2024.From 1 July 2023, UK passport holders will be able to apply for an Australian WH visa between the ages of 18 and 35 years inclusive. From 1 July 2024, UK passport holders will be eligible to be granted up to three Working Holiday visas without having to meet any specified work requirements.

Members: Correspondence

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Minister for Immigration plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 24 April 2023, reference ZA32944.

Robert Jenrick: A response will be provided as soon as possible.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Innovation: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding was allocated to Solihull Council as part of the UK Research and Innovation Innovate Scheme in 2021-22.

Paul Scully: In 2021-22, the region of Solihull received £15.2 million from UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (ESPRC) to fund research and innovation projects.

Public Telephones: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department holds data on the number of BT telephone boxes in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London as of 6 June 2023.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold any data on the number of BT public telephone boxes in any given area. This is due to the fact that the public telephone box network is privately owned.Having consulted externally with BT the Department can provide the following figures:Public payphones in:Enfield Borough: 70London: 2718Any request for further data should be directed to the provider.There are clear principles that BT must comply with under its Universal Service obligations, as set out in the telephony Universal Service Order, established in 2003. BT must provide public call boxes to meet the reasonable needs of users in terms of geographical coverage, the number of public call boxes and the quality of call box services. The criteria for ‘reasonable needs’ include that the public call box in question is the only one within 800 metres; there are at least 500 households within 1 kilometre, and at least 12 calls have been made from the public call box within the previous 12 months.At least 70% of public call boxes must also offer cash payment facilities.If BT wishes to remove a public call box, it must also notify the relevant local authority in writing, allowing 90 days for a response.

Public Telephones: Greater Manchester

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department holds data on the number of BT telephone boxes in (a) Stockport constituency, (b) Stockport Borough and (c) Greater Manchester as of 5 June 2023.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold any data on the number of BT public telephone boxes in any given area. This is due to the fact that the public telephone box network is privately owned.Having consulted externally with BT the Department can provide the following figures:Public payphones in:Stockport Borough Council: 53Greater Manchester: 741Any request for further data should be directed to the provider.There are clear principles that BT must comply with under its Universal Service obligations, as set out in the telephony Universal Service Order, established in 2003. BT must provide public call boxes to meet the reasonable needs of users in terms of geographical coverage, the number of public call boxes and the quality of call box services. The criteria for ‘reasonable needs’ include that the public call box in question is the only one within 800 metres; there are at least 500 households within 1 kilometre, and at least 12 calls have been made from the public call box within the previous 12 months.At least 70% of public call boxes must also offer cash payment facilities.If BT wishes to remove a public call box, it must also notify the relevant local authority in writing, allowing 90 days for a response.

Broadband: Glasgow

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what procurement processes were followed before the contract to upgrade the broadband network in the Glasgow area was awarded to CityFibre.

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department undertook a public consultation on procurement for upgrading the broadband network in the Glasgow area before the contract was awarded to CityFibre.

Sir John Whittingdale: The UK Government has not awarded a contract to the supplier CityFibre to upgrade broadband infrastructure in the City of Glasgow, nor was it involved in a consultation or procurement process for any awarded contract.I would advise contacting the local council, who may be able to provide further information.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy Bills Rebate

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department made an equality impact assessment before (a) determining the period of time that applications would be open and (b) deciding when to publish the deadline for making applications on the GOV.UK portal for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding.

Amanda Solloway: The Department conducted a Public Sector Equality Duty assessment before the scheme launched, and this document is regularly updated. Officials also conducted an assessment for the length of the scheme, concluding that 3 months would provide suitable time for eligible households to apply, whilst lowering the risk of overpayments because of individuals moving during the scheme. The 31st May deadline was communicated by the Department in the 27th February press notice and to key stakeholder groups who represented eligible applicants, and was added to the GOV.UK portal in May for further clarity.

Land: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of land stability in the Barnsley Coalfield.

Graham Stuart: The Coal Authority, a Partner Organisation of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, plays an important role in managing public safety and ground stability across the former British Coalfield areas. The Authority does not carry inspections of coalfield areas as a whole but has a programme of proactive inspections of locations where they are aware of former mine workings which includes those in the Barnsley Coalfield area.

Electricity Generation: Subsidies

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much the Government spent on subsidies to electricity generators last year.

Graham Stuart: The latest forecasts for 2022/23 are:Renewables obligation - £6.9bnContracts for difference - Electricity Generators paid back £0.1bnCapacity market - £0.7bnThe total scheme value for Feed-in-Tariffs scheme was £1.6bn in 2021/22.These schemes support security of supply and decarbonisation and in response to extraordinary returns by low-carbon generators, the Government introduced the Electricity Generator Levy.Sources: OBR - 'Table 2.8 - Environmental Levies' in the March 2023 Economic and Fiscal outlook - supplementary fiscal tables: receipts and others' https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2023/#annex-a. Ofgem's 2021-22 Feed-in-Tariff annual report: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/feed-tariff-fit-annual-report-2021-22#:~:text=It%20presents%20statistics%20on%20the,our%20audit%20and%20compliance%20programme

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Official Cars

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many cars are in his Department’s car fleet; and how many of these are electric.

Graham Stuart: The Department contracts with the Government Car Service, which is a division within the Department for Transport, for the provision of two cars.The vehicle fuel type varies depending on which car has been allocated to cover on a given day. Generally, the cars are electric or hybrid.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Heating

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what type of heating system his Department uses as the primary means of heating its premises.

Graham Stuart: The Department uses gas boilers as its primary means of heating for its current HQ building in 1 Victoria Street, London.

Iron and Steel: Production

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what comparative estimate he has made of the costs of carbon tax and emissions trading on steel production in (a) the UK, (b) Germany and (c) China.

Graham Stuart: UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) industrial participants, such as those in the steel sector, receive free allocations limiting their exposure to the carbon price and mitigating the risk of carbon leakage. Steel production in Germany is subject to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) which operates under similar rules and with a similar market price to the UK ETS. Carbon costs are comparable, although will be impacted by the performance of individual steel installations relative to benchmarks. The EU ETS price has been operating at a premium to the UK ETS price for several months. China’s National Emissions Trading Scheme currently only applies to the power sector and does not directly cover industrial installations such as steel.

Hydrogen: Production

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero whether his Department is taking steps to support the scaling up of hydrogen production pathways beyond blue and green methods.

Graham Stuart: To get the scale and cost reductions needed to meet the UK's carbon budget and net zero commitments, the UK supports multiple hydrogen production routes. This includes blue and green hydrogen as well as less-established technologies, such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), thermochemical water splitting and methane pyrolysis, which could also play a role in the production mix. Further detail is set out in July 2022’s Hydrogen Strategy Update to the Market. The UK's low carbon hydrogen standard will ensure all supported technologies make a real contribution to our decarbonisation goals.

Heating: Renewable Fuels

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions his Department has had with industry on recent data on the adequacy of global (a) production and (b) supply of (i) hydrotreated vegetable oil and (ii) other renewable liquid fuels for domestic heating usage in the UK.

Graham Stuart: The Government meets regularly with industry representatives to discuss levels of global production and supply of renewable liquid fuels. The Government expects heat pumps will be the primary technology for decarbonising off-grid buildings. The Government recognises that not all off-grid properties will be suitable for a heat pump and there will be a role for alternative low carbon technologies where heat pumps cannot be used.

Fossil Fuels: Nature Conservation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the research by Lingo entitled Unburnable Carbon in Protected Areas, published in May 2023, on the number of fossil fuel sites in nature protected areas in the UK.

Graham Stuart: The UK has a robust regulatory system which provides a comprehensive regime for all exploratory activities. The UK has regulated oil, gas, and coal drilling, onshore and offshore, for many years and has regulations in place to ensure on-site safety, prevent environmental contamination and minimise emissions. As well as obtaining access agreements with landowners and planning permissions, operators require environmental permits from the relevant environmental regulator, scrutiny by the relevant health and safety regulator, and consent from the North Sea Transition Authority or Coal Authority for drilling under the provisions of their licence.

UK Emissions Trading Scheme: Ceramics

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Government's policy on the UK Emission Trading Scheme on the (a) economic growth and (b) international competitiveness of the UK ceramics industry.

Graham Stuart: The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) incentivises industries to find the most cost-effective solutions to decarbonise, enabling green growth. Industrial participants in the UK ETS, including those in the ceramics sector, are provided with free allocations reducing exposure to the carbon price and mitigating carbon leakage risk. The Government has guaranteed free allocations at current levels until 2026, and as part of an ongoing review will look to target support more effectively to sectors most at risk of carbon leakage. The Government is consulting on wider carbon leakage mitigations such as a carbon border adjustment mechanism and mandatory product standards.

Ceramics: Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to take steps to help decarbonise the UK ceramics sector.

Graham Stuart: Innovative ceramics fuel mixes were supported through the Industrial Fuel Switching competition, with £300,000 for hydrogen trials in Stoke. On 5th June, the Government launched the Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans competition, which will provide support to local areas and could support initiatives for ceramic decarbonisation. Funding for deployment of low carbon technologies, and for feasibility/engineering studies, is also available through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF). Subject to business case approval, IETF Phase 3 will open for applications in early 2024, worth up to £185m.

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.

Graham Stuart: Department officials meet the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme (MPS) Trustees regularly to monitor the performance of the MPS. The Scheme works well for all parties. A triennial valuation will begin towards the end of the year.

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will review the surplus sharing arrangements for the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme.

Graham Stuart: The Government considers the current arrangements to be working well for all parties. No review of arrangements is planned, but the Government has made clear to the MPS Trustees that it would consider any proposals for change that do not add risk to taxpayers.

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the services provided by Eaves Energy Solutions Ltd in providing works funded by the public purse under the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme; and what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) value for money of energy improvement works more broadly to homes  under that scheme.

Graham Stuart: Under the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme, installers were TrustMark-registered, MCS-certified for heat and PAS-certified for energy efficiency, therefore thoroughly vetted against trading practices. Installers regularly had their work inspected to ensure quality. The scheme monitored quotes provided by installers to prevent over-charging and robust counter-fraud measures were built into the scheme. Interim findings from the scheme evaluation, including on installation quality and initial assessment of value for money, were published in January 2023. The final evaluation will be published Summer/Autumn 2023. Constituents should raise complaints regarding an installation directly with their installer. If their issues are not resolved, further information can be found here: https://www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowners/if-things-go-wrong.

Hydrogen: Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of potential future trends in the levels of demand for hydrogen in net zero sectors until (a) 2035 and (b) 2050.

Graham Stuart: Low carbon hydrogen has an important role to play in decarbonising UK industrial sectors and providing flexible deployment across power, transport, and potentially heat.The Net Zero Strategy suggests the UK could need 80-140 TWh of hydrogen by 2035 and 240-500 TWh by 2050.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Renewable Energy

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of his Department's estate is on a (a) renewable and (b) renewable blend energy tariff.

Graham Stuart: The Department’s HQ building at 1 Victoria Street, London is supplied by EDF's 'Zero Carbon for Business 100%' tariff. This energy tariff uses a 100% nuclear mix and produces zero carbon emissions.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Renewable Energy

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) solar panels and (b) wind turbines are installed on his Department’s buildings.

Graham Stuart: The Department has 31 solar panels on the roof of its HQ building at 1 Victoria Street, London. The Department does not have any wind turbines on the building.

Carbon Capture and Storage: Finance

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much the Government plans to spend on carbon (a) capture and (b) storage this year.

Graham Stuart: The 2021 Spending Review allocated £0.3bn to Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) for FY23/24. This funding supports the Government’s ambition for CCUS in four industrial clusters by 2030. On 15 March 2023 the Chancellor announced an up to £20 billion investment in the early development of CCUS and, on 30 March, the Government announced the eight HyNet and East Coast Cluster projects to proceed to negotiations for support through the relevant Business Models. Following this, the Government expects some adjustment to the timing of spend to reflect the pace of deployment.

Carbon Capture and Storage

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of solid carbon sequestration.

Graham Stuart: True solid carbon sequestration involves reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon, for example by using liquid metal reductants, before the solid carbon is stored in a carbon storage facility. This approach requires a high energy input and has not been studied in detail by the Department. Lower-energy methods of storing carbon as a solid are through the production of biochar or through mineralisation and the Department supports the development of these technologies through the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.

Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation Convention) Regulations 1998

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that amendments to the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation Convention) Regulations 1998 do not increase the risk of oil pollution from oil and gas platforms.

Graham Stuart: Any future amendments to the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation Convention) Regulations 1998 in relation to oil and gas platforms would, as a minimum, maintain existing environmental protection standards provided for by the current regime.

Heating: Energy Performance Certificates

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to amend the methodology used in the standard assessment procedure on the use of non-storage heaters to ensure that it does not negatively impact the energy performance certificate of affected properties.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to making the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) methodology more accurate, robust and fit for purpose to support our commitments to Net Zero. Government has commenced work on an update to the Reduced Data SAP (RdSAP) which underpins energy performance certificates in existing buildings. This will be introduced in due course.

Natural Gas: USA

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much gas labelled (a) certified  and (b) responsibly sourced has been imported from the USA since the start of the Ukraine war.

Graham Stuart: The Government does not hold such data.

Surface Engineering: Carbon Emissions

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to helpthe surface engineering sector to transition to net zero.

Graham Stuart: The Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy sets out a funding approach to support the deployment of low carbon technologies and the critical shared infrastructure required to deploy these at scale. This includes the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), and Scottish IETF, for which the surface engineering sector is eligible. Subject to business case approval, IETF Phase 3 will open for applications in early 2024, increasing the total funding available to over £500 million.

District Heating: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding his Department has allocated to Solihull Council for the Heat Networks Investment Project in the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24 financial years.

Graham Stuart: The Department allocated £2.9m Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) funding to the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the 2022-23 financial year. No HNIP funding has been allocated in 2023-24 as the scheme is now closed.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2023 to Question 185627 on Offshore Industry: Skilled Workers, what recent discussions he has had with (a) employers and (b) trade unions in the offshore wind sector on the effectiveness of the Wind Energy Access Portal in facilitating re-training (a) for offshore oil and gas workers and (b) generally; and whether officials in his Department were involved in the design of the Portal.

Graham Stuart: The Wind Energy Access Portal has been developed by the offshore wind sector and is partnered with RenewableUK, Global Wind Organisation, G+ and SafetyOn. Officials are engaging with industry through the Offshore Wind Industry Council on how industry is facilitating the transition of skilled workers into the offshore wind sector.

Energy: Billing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the age of a boiler on the levels of energy bills.

Graham Stuart: Old non-condensing boilers are less efficient than condensing boilers. As such, replacing a non-condensing boiler with a condensing model can reduce customer bills, sometimes significantly. The bill saving will vary from property to property. It is important that boilers are installed to the correct standards and with appropriate controls to ensure they work as efficiently as possible. Proposals for new standards to improve gas boiler efficiency were set out in the recent consultation “Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency.”

Offshore Industry: Carbon Emissions

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an estimate of the potential CO2 emissions resulting from the licenses awarded from the 29th to the 32nd UK offshore licensing rounds.

Graham Stuart: The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions from UK oil and gas extraction, including from recent licensing rounds, are accounted for in our legally-binding carbon budgets. Scope 3 emissions from oil and gas are accounted for in the country in which they are used, in line with guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Projected future emissions from all licensing rounds are incorporated into the offshore sector’s North Sea Transition Deal commitments. These commitments are consistent with the UK meeting carbon budgets. Additionally, the Climate Compatibility Checkpoint assesses whether new licensing is compatible with the UK’s climate targets.

Offshore Industry: Carbon Emissions

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential CO2 emissions resulting from the blocks of part-blocks offered at the 33rd UK offshore licensing round.

Graham Stuart: The scope 1 and scope 2 emissions from UK oil and gas extraction, including from recent licensing rounds, are accounted for in our legally-binding carbon budgets. Scope 3 emissions from oil and gas are accounted for in the country in which they are used, in line with guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Projected future emissions from all licensing rounds are incorporated into the offshore sector’s North Sea Transition Deal commitments. These commitments are consistent with the UK meeting carbon budgets. Additionally, the Climate Compatibility Checkpoint assesses whether new licensing is compatible with the UK’s climate targets.

Local Government: Carbon Emissions

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to publish up-to-date carbon usage for each local authority.

Graham Stuart: The UK local and regional greenhouse gas emissions national statistics, 2005 to 2020 set out emissions data down to the local authority level.

Private Rented Housing: Energy Performance Certificates

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it is his policy to increase the Energy Performance Certificate rating of privately rented properties to C by (a) 2025 for new and (a) 2028 for all tenancies.

Graham Stuart: The Government has consulted on proposals to raise energy performance standards, in line with the ambition set out in the Clean Growth Strategy. Final decisions on those proposals have not yet been made. Government is considering how best to ensure the cost relating to energy performance improvements are fair and proportionate to landlords and tenants and will publish a summary of responses to this consultation by the end of this year.

Private Rented Housing: Energy Performance Certificates

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities of the number and proportion of tenants who would be affected by increasing the minimum Energy Performance Certificate level to C in the private rented sector.

Graham Stuart: According to the 2021/22 English Housing Survey, 55% of housing in the private rented sector had EPC ratings of bands D-G. This represents 2.4m homes that could potentially be affected by increasing the minimum Energy Performance Certificate level to C for homes in this tenure.

Private Rented Housing: Energy

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the average monthly energy bill for private rental sector tenants in properties with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of (a) C and (b) E.

Graham Stuart: The Department estimates a median monthly energy bill of £173 for private rental properties in England and Wales with an EPC C rating and £230 for properties rated EPC E. These estimates have been derived using gas and electricity meter-point consumption data from 2019, for a sample of properties that made up the department’s 2021 National Energy Efficiency Data publication. The prices of gas and electricity used are those associated with the current Energy Price Guarantee. Using the prices under Ofgem’s energy price cap from 1 July to 30 September 2023, median monthly energy bills would be £149 and £196, respectively.

Local Government: Carbon Emissions

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with local authorities on developing coordinated policies for meeting his net zero targets.

Graham Stuart: The Local Net Zero Forum brings together national and local government on a regular basis to discuss policy and delivery options on net zero. The Local Net Zero Forum held a ministerial level meeting on 09 February, co-chaired by my noble Friend, Lord Callanan.

Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it is his policy to join the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance.

Graham Stuart: The UK is not a member and has no plans to join the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance.

Nuclear Power

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of working alongside development companies to make the establishment of new nuclear projects a faster process.

Andrew Bowie: In April Great British Nuclear (GBN) launched the first phase of the competitive process to select the best Small Modular Reactors technologies in the form of a market engagement exercise. The second phase – the down-selection process - will be launched in the summer, with an ambition to decide on the leading technologies by autumn. The market engagement exercise will help GBN to improve its understanding of market capability and technical offering of the full vendor community, the financial position of potential projects, and potential delivery models.The Government will provide co-funding that will be deployed by GBN and will work with successful bidders on ensuring the right financing and site arrangements are in place, in line with its commitment to take two Final Investment Decisions next parliament.

Energy Bills Discount Scheme: Small Businesses

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the impact on Small and medium-sized businesses of not being eligible for the additional Energy Bills Discount Scheme for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries.

Amanda Solloway: The Energy Bill Relief Scheme review took account of contributions from the private sector, trade associations, the voluntary sector and other types of organisations on sectors that may be most affected by rising energy prices based on energy and trade intensity. The outcome of the review informed the criteria for the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS). Eligible SMEs will get the baseline discount. The higher ETII support will be provided to SMEs that meet the eligibility criteria. The EBDS reflects the scale of change in the energy market as prices continue to fall. The EBDS strikes the right balance by supporting businesses over the next year, ensuring fiscal responsibility and limiting the taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Construction

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many new prison places are scheduled to be built by May (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.

Damian Hinds: At least c.6,400 new prison places are anticipated to be delivered by the end of May 2024, rising to c.8,200 by the end of May 2025, including places already delivered to date. We will push for earlier delivery of places wherever possible. In addition to these places, we extended the lease at HMP Dartmoor, maintaining 680 places from December 2023. We have also submitted planning appeals for new prisons in Lancashire, Leicestershire and Buckinghamshire, which will provide c.5,000 additional places. If planning is successful, these prisons would open as soon as possible.Construction is well underway on our first all-electric prison, HMP Millsike, which will deliver c.1,500 new prison places. The installation of 1,000 Rapid Deployment Cells has started, with the first two sites already accepting prisoners, and the majority will be delivered in 2023. Construction continues on new houseblocks at HMP Stocken, HMP Hatfield, HMP Sudbury and HMP Rye Hill, which will add c.850 places between them. We are also undertaking major refurbishments at sites including HMP Birmingham, HMP Liverpool and HMP Norwich, delivering c.800 cells between them; the wing by wing refurbishment at HMP Liverpool will see every cell renovated and the second phase of works has delivered 75 places ahead of schedule in April.We have made c.2,600 spaces available since September 2022 (the equivalent of two large new prisons) through maximising use of the existing estate, deferring non-essential maintenance and swiftly delivering our 20,000 place portfolio.

Evictions: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many evictions have taken place under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 in the last (a) 12 months, (b) 6 months and (c) 3 months in (i) Enfield North Constituency, (ii) the London Borough of Enfield and (iii) London.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on the volume of Section 21 evictions. These figures are published up to March 2023 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics.

Evictions: Stockport

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many evictions have taken place under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 in the last (a) 12, (b) six and (c) three months in Stockport constituency.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on the volume of Section 21 evictions. These figures are published up to March 2023 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics.

Criminal Proceedings: Databases

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the (a) name, (b) data type, (c) purpose and (d) other details of all data attributes recorded in the Common Platform for each criminal case; and whether recording of each data attribute is compulsory.

Mike Freer: Common Platform receives and consumes a set standard of data (within an essential data framework) provided by prosecutors and parties to proceedings, which are set out in legislation. These dictate minimum standards of the data required to progress a case. The information is mandatory in the context of necessity for the case to function.HMCTS are currently developing our approach to the HMCTS internal data catalogue, which would cover information of the type requested. We are also planning to create an external data catalogue that would help us share information of this type. Once completed, this project will determine what information will be published about the datasets we hold.

Crown Court: Standards

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) mean and (b) median length of time taken from (i) receipt at Crown Court to main hearing, (ii) main hearing to completion and (iii) receipt at Crown Court to completion was for cases heard in each year between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2022; and to provide a breakdown of those figures by (A) court and (B) offence.

Mike Freer: The Ministy of Justice publishes timeliness estimates for various stages of the justice process in tables accompanying our Criminal Court statistics release here: Criminal court statistics quarterly: October to December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).We also provide further breakdowns in the form of a timeliness tool which offers the option to filter more granular stages of timeliness, including by offence and geographical area. This can be found here: (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1148226/timeliness_tool.xlsx).

Magistrates' Courts: ICT

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the legal representation status of defendants in magistrates’ courts can be derived from data recorded in the Common Platform.

Mike Freer: Legal representation (granted, refused, pending) and the status per offence is recorded on Common Platform.

Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Independent Review

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether all work required to implement recommendation 12 of the Lammy Review has been completed.

Mike Freer: We welcomed the Lammy Review in 2017 and committed to taking actions against each of the recommendations from the Review, bar the two for the independent judiciary. Where a recommendation could not be implemented exactly as set out, alternative approaches were sought to tackle the same issue. Now, almost all of the actions we originally committed have been carried out.Recommendation 12 of the Review states that “the Open Justice initiative should be extended and updated so that it is possible to view sentences for individual offences at individual courts, broken down by demographic characteristics, including gender and ethnicity”.Since 2017, as we committed to, we have been increasing the availability of demographic data on our justice system users. Experts can now access more detailed data, including on ethnicity and other protected characteristics, through our pioneering data-linking programme Data First. This is providing new insights in a way that has not been possible before, by linking data from across the justice system and making it available for independent academic research. The Data First datasets provide detailed information on defendants and their outcomes, enabling new research exploring sentencing and case outcomes, broken down by demographic characteristics, including ethnicity and gender.Outside of this programme court outcomes for individual offences and protected characteristics are publicly available and can be found in the Criminal Justice Statistics quarterly. This publication produces tools on an annual basis by demographic characteristics, offence information, and by Police Force Area. Currently, data for individual courts can be produced upon request, and we are exploring ways to develop these data further, balancing user needs and accessibility.

Probate: Standards

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average processing time of probate applications (a) digitally and (b) on paper was in the latest period for which data are available.

Mike Freer: Despite record level of receipts in 2022, the average median length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, during October to December 2022 is:Digitally 4 weeksPaper 17 weeksHMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand following an increased number of estates requiring probate and is further increasing resourcing to further bring down overall timeliness on digital and paper applications.Average waiting times for probate grants, are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to December 2022.

Private Rented Housing: Evictions

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many evictions have taken place under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 in the past (a) 12, (b) six and (c) three months.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of section 21 evictions in the last (a) six and (b) 12 months.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on the volume of Section 21 evictions. These figures are published up to March 2023 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics.

Drugs: Crime

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of offenders who have been found guilty at all courts for (a) the supply of drugs, (b) possession of drugs with intent to supply, (c) importation of drugs and (d) drug production in each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of individuals convicted for the supply of (a) drugs, (b) possession of drugs with intent to supply, (c) importation of drugs and (d) drug production in each year since 2010.

Damian Hinds: The Ministry of Justice holds data on individuals convicted of drug offences on a principal offence, principal disposal basis, covering the period requested. This is publicly available and can be viewed in Outcomes by Offence tool: 2022. Information on the number of individuals convicted of drug offences at all courts can be found in the above tool by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and filtering for the desired offences in the offence and HO offence code field.

Prisons: Dogs

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a list of prisons that have trained sniffer dogs deployed on site.

Damian Hinds: HMPPS adopts a regional approach to deployment of search (sniffer) dogs, which allows Prison Group Directors to determine the best approach to deploy their resource. Therefore, search (sniffer) dogs are available for deployment to all prisons.

Prisons: Dogs

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of dogs that are being used across HM Prison and Probation Service.

Damian Hinds: There are 867 operational dogs being used across HMPPS.

Prisons: Dogs

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the maintenance and housing trained sniffer dogs deployed in prisons.

Damian Hinds: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Dogs

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the use of trained sniffer dogs in prisons in each of the last five years.

Damian Hinds: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Prison Officers: Restraint Techniques

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2023 to Question 184843 on Prison Officers: Restraint Techniques, what estimate he has made of the potential cost of answering that Question.

Damian Hinds: Following any use of force incident, all officers involved must complete a use of force report to explain why their actions were necessary reasonable and proportionate. Officers’ ethnicity is not recorded on the reports and is voluntarily recorded on HR systems. HMPPS do not hold staff data for officer employed in Privately Managed Prisons. HMPPS have approximately 2250 use of force incidents a month. There can be multiple officers involved in an incident. We would have to manually check each record for the last 5 years to answer Question 184843, which would be over the cost limit.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions: Women

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with officials at the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the timescales for the publication of the second stage of its report on Women’s State Pension age: our findings on the Department for Work and Pensions’ communication of changes.

Laura Trott: It would not be appropriate to comment on the investigation while it is ongoing. Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”. Please refer to the Ombudsman’s website for the latest information.

Pensions: Mental Illness

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve private pension outcomes for people with mental health problems.

Laura Trott: The Department is committed to ensuring everyone including those with mental health problems are equipped to plan appropriately for retirement by ensuring they have access to clear, simple information and guidance. We have introduced regulations requiring defined contribution schemes (used for automatic enrolment) to send simpler and shorter statements to members, covering key information savers need to engage with and understand their pensions. The Stronger Nudge to pensions guidance regulations, which came into force on 1 June 2022, ensures no-one will be able to access their savings through pension freedoms without having received Pension Wise guidance or opted out of receiving it. The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) offers free and impartial guidance to help people make more informed decisions about their pensions. MaPS’ services are designed for people with varying needs, including mental health problems, and it recently reviewed its guidance to ensure its in line with the Financial Conduct Authority’s vulnerable customers policy. The organisation delivers pension guidance through a range of channels and accessible formats and conducts user testing which includes people with mental health problems. MaPS’ frontline pension specialists also receive training to support people who have mental health problems

Pensions: Advisory Services

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce the average time taken by the Future Pensions Centre to answer calls.

Laura Trott: Due to the unprecedented high demand of calls, DWP have moved additional staff into this area to help reduce the average time taken to answer calls.

Child Maintenance Service: Complaints

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Maintenance Service is taking steps to reduce the time taken for complaints to be handled.

Mims Davies: DWP aim to contact customers within 15 working days to clear their complaint or agree how to investigate it if it will take longer. DWP now triage complaints giving priority to vulnerable claimants who may be at risk, and those with benefit payment issues. We continue to investigate all complaints as quickly as we can and, as part of the triage process, we write or call those customers, where there may be a delay in answering their complaint. Since 2021, Child Maintenance Service complaints team has seen their response times to complainants steadily improve and are now responding to almost all complaints within the timescale.

Child Maintenance Service

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department is providing to the Child Maintenance Service to reduce payment recalculation processing times.

Mims Davies: Significant improvements have been to the online service ‘My Child Maintenance Case’ to allow Child Maintenance Service customers report a range of changes that, with the associated automation and optimisation, have enabled reduction in payment re-calculation times. Examples of the types of changes that can now be reported through ‘My Child Maintenance Case’ include Paying Parent change of income and changes in shared care. In addition, through modernisation, the service is continuing to enable more and more automation in its regular casework and processing including the automation of changes when qualifying children leave full time education or when customers move on and off benefit. As well as speeding up certain changes this digitisation additionally creates time for caseworker to focus on delivering more complex changes that still require manual action improving speed and quality. Email and SMS campaigns are now also being used to signpost and inform customers of online services and the volume of customers who are using the online services continues to increase. As part of the wider DWP Service Modernisation Programme, further enhancements are being made that will support the reduction in time to re-calculate payments. This includes greater use of data available to automate the processing of changes and improved tailoring of the online services to make it easier for customers to navigate and use the online service so get their change made quicker.

Health: Working Hours

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the implementation of health checks on a regular basis by employers of night workers in the context of the Working Time Regulations; and what guidance his Department holds on the interpretation of what a regular basis constitutes to in carrying out these checks.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the Working Time Regulations (WTR) 1998 which place duties on employers in respect of health assessments for night workers. Regulation 7 requires employers to ensure that each night worker employed by them has the opportunity of a free health assessment at regular intervals. It is not mandatory for workers to take up this offer. There is no prescribed procedure for conducting a health assessment, but as a minimum, employers should construct a screening questionnaire compiled with guidance from a qualified health care professional. HSE online guidance does not define the term “regular basis” but states that “the requirements in Regulation 7 complement the duty in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 reg.3 to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of employees.” The frequency of the health assessment should therefore be guided by an assessment of the specific risks to each individual worker. HSE would review health assessments on a case-by-case basis as required. HSE guidance on shift working supports employers by outlining their legal duties. Where workers are concerned about risks to their health and safety, they can raise this with HSE via its website. Employers should seek specialist advice from a suitably qualified health care professional, when devising and assessing the results of health assessments. If a worker suffers from health problems that are caused or made worse by night work, the employer should, where possible, transfer the employee to day work.

Department for Work and Pensions: Artificial Intelligence

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May to Question 185338 on Department for Work and Pensions: Artificial Intelligence,  which (a) services and (b) processes are automated in his Department.

Mims Davies: A number of DWP processes use automation which comes under the scope of Art 22(1) UK-GDPR for some decisions. These processes form part of the following DWP services: Warm Home Discount SchemeGet Your State PensionApply for Pension CreditPension Credit Extra Amount for Severe DisabilityNew Style Jobseekers AllowanceCost of Living PaymentsSeasonal PaymentsBereavement Support PaymentsBudgeting Loans Automation Artificial Intelligence is not used in any of these processes.

Child Maintenance Service

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the service being offered by the Child Maintenance Service.

Mims Davies: The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) can play an effective role in helping lift children out of poverty. Through both family-based arrangements (FBAs) and CMS arrangements, we estimate receiving parents in separated families received £2.6 billion annually in child maintenance payments in the three financial years ending 2020 to 2022. Overall, we estimate that on average these payments kept 160,000 children out of absolute low income on an after-housing costs basis each year. The CMS is focussed on taking pro-active steps to improve the service being offered to both potential customers and those already in the service. In 2022 the CMS introduced a new digital service ‘Get Help arranging Child Maintenance’ (GHACHM). GHACM is a digital service, available 24/7, making it more accessible for customers. The majority of applications are now made online. Expanded payment functions via telephony and online services have also helped to provide more options to parents. CMS has made significant improvements in their telephony service and internal management information suggests the average time to answer calls has reduced by a third since 2021/22. The CMS recently piloted ‘Real Time Customer Feedback’ on behalf of the department to better understand customer experience.A Private Members’ Bill (PMB) to streamline CMS enforcement, being taken forward by Siobhan Baillie, is currently ongoing working towards a third reading in the House of Lords. The PMB removes the requirement to make court applications for liability orders which enable the CMS to progress with enforcement action, thus improving the efficiency of the enforcement process.

Independent Case Examiner: Standards

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Independent Case Examiner is taking to reduce the time taken for cases to be processed.

Mims Davies: The ICE office continuously reviews its processes and operating model to improve productivity and reduce the length of time investigations take to be concluded, without compromising quality. The overall ICE process has several stages. Once a case has been accepted, ICE will attempt to resolve it without a full evidence gather. If a resolution cannot be brokered, the case awaits allocation to an investigator who will judge first, once the evidence is available, whether the complaint can be settled. If this is not appropriate, or if settlement action cannot be agreed with the customer, an investigation is conducted and findings are made. Since April 2022 ICE has recruited an additional 18 investigators who will become increasingly productive as they consolidate initial training. A further 5 staff are due to join the team from July. Additional resource will be focused on CMS work.

Jobcentres: Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work coaches were employed in Jobcentres as of 1 June (a) 2023, (b) 2022, (c) 2021, (d) 2020, (e) 2019 and (f) 2018.

Guy Opperman: RoleFull Time Equivalent of staff  June-23June-22June-21June-20June-19June-18Work Coaches14,15017,28023,04011,03012,28013,690 Source: DWP’s internal Activity Based Model (ABM) Notes:   Data is correct as of 1 June 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.Data for Work Coaches does not include Work Coach Team Leaders.Figures were derived from the Department’s Activity Based Model (ABM), which provides Full Time Equivalent (FTE) figures based on point in time estimate by Line Managers. They cover only FTE of staff with paid employment. They have been rounded to the nearest 10.The number of Work Coaches is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal department use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard. As the Department holds the information, we have released it.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an estimate of the cost to the public purse of removing the two children limit for support provided through (a) the Child Tax Credit and (b) Universal Credit.

Guy Opperman: The latest available estimate was made in 2019, which can be found here Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament

Finance: Older Workers

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Mid-life MOTs have been delivered to over 50s in Jobcentres in each of the last six months for which data is available.

Guy Opperman: The Midlife MOT within Jobcentres was rolled out from the end of January 2023. Quality assured data on the number of Universal Credit claimants aged 50 or over who have attended a Midlife MOT is not yet available.

Universal Credit: Children

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families with more than two children made a first claim for Universal Credit in each of the last five years.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Employment

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the implementation of the two-child limit on Universal Credit claimants at incentivising parents to (a) move into work, (b) work more hours and (c) increase their incomes.

Guy Opperman: No such assessment has been made and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Fraud

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2023 to Question 186405 on Universal Credit: Fraud, whether he plans to publish the equalities assessment of trials using machine learning algorithms to detect fraud in claims for Universal Credit advances.

Tom Pursglove: The DWP will not publish the equalities assessment (EA). Providing specific information contained within our EA would enable fraudsters to understand our services and the way our IT systems work, leading to new frauds and greater losses to the public purse.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who will be supported into work through the universal support programme in financial year 2022-23.

Tom Pursglove: On Sunday 11 June, the Secretary of State announced the expansion of the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) programme in England, which forms the first phase of Universal Support. We have invested over £58 million to support over 25,000 disabled people and those with health conditions to find and stay in work through IPSPC by March 2025. This funding will provide additional employment support through services covering 41 top tier local authorities in England. The first phase of IPSPC delivery began from April 2023, with six lead authorities receiving funding for services covering 30 LAs, supporting around 12,700 disabled people. These are: South Yorkshire (Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham);Greater Manchester (Manchester City, Bolton, Bury, Tameside, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Trafford, Wigan);West London Alliance (Ealing, Barnet, Brent, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow);Norfolk;Cheshire West and Chester; andWest Midlands (Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton). IPSPC will be expanded to cover a further 12,900 people, with six more lead authorities receiving funding for services covering 11 local authorities in England. These are: Enfield;Essex;Newham (Newham, Hackney, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets);Nottingham (Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby);Slough; andSurrey. The services supported by this funding are being mobilised and all are expected to be in delivery from summer 2023.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Disability Employment Advisors were employed by his Department as of 1 June (a) 2023, (b) 2022, (c) 2021, (d) 2020, (e) 2019 and (f) 2018.

Tom Pursglove: RoleFull Time Equivalent of staff  June-23June-22June-21June-20June-19June-18Disability Living Advisers780860720190100470 Source: DWP’s internal Activity Based Model (ABM). Notes:   Data is correct as of 1 June in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023;Data for Disability Living Advisers (DLAs) does not include DLA Team Leaders;Figures were derived from the department’s Activity Based Model (ABM), which provides Full Time Equivalent (FTE) figures based on point in time estimate by Line Managers. They cover only FTE of staff with paid employment. They have been rounded to the nearest 10; andThe number of DLAs is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard. As the department holds the information, we have released it.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that disabled jobseekers can access specialist support while looking for work.

Tom Pursglove: A range of Government initiatives are supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay, and succeed in work. These include: Increasing Work Coach support in Jobcentres for people with health conditions receiving Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance;Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres offering advice and expertise on how to help disabled people and people with health conditions into work;The Work and Health Programme and Intensive Personalised Employment Support, providing tailored and personalised support for participants;Access to Work grants helping towards extra costs of working beyond standard reasonable adjustments;Disability Confident, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and health, and to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face in the workplace;An online information and advice service called “Support with Employee Health and Disability”, providing better integrated and tailored guidance on supporting health and disability in the workplace;Increasing access to occupational health, including the testing of financial incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed; andWork in partnership between the DWP and health systems, including Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies, which combines psychological treatment and employment support for people with mental health conditions. To tackle rising economic inactivity due to long-term sickness, we announced a wide-reaching package at the Spring Budget to support disabled people and people with health conditions to work. New investment will provide faster access to joined-up work and health support, including for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, the two leading causes of economic inactivity due to long-term sickness. Jobcentre staff also have access to information on services and support available in their local area and will signpost claimants to national and local organisations who can provide additional specialist support.

Employment: Disability

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the disability employment gap.

Tom Pursglove: In the recent Health and Disability White Paper, the Government reaffirmed our commitment to close the disability employment gap. To support this ambition, the Government announced a wide-reaching package at the Spring Budget to support disabled people, and people with health conditions, to stay in, and return to, work. New investment broadens access to additional Work Coach support for disabled people and people with health conditions, introduces a new supported employment programme and focuses on providing faster access to joined-up work and health support, including for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions. This new investment builds on our existing package of support to help disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in, work. These include increasing Work Coach support in Jobcentres; Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres; the Work and Health Programme and Intensive Personalised Employment Support, Access to Work grants; Disability Confident; the Information and Advice Service; and work to further join up employment and health systems, including Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies.

Jobcentres: Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2023 to Question 176695 on Jobcentres: Health Services, if he will publish further information on the implementation of the WorkWell Partnerships Programme pilot.

Tom Pursglove: Following the announcement of the WorkWell pilot at Spring Budget, work is underway, including engagement with a range of stakeholders, to inform and finalise its design. The Government will publish further information later this year, including information for local areas who are interested in forming WorkWell partnerships.

Department for Work and Pensions: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which Ministerial Disability Champions attended a meeting on 15 May 2023; if he will publish the minutes of that meeting; and when the next meeting of Ministerial Disability Champions is due to take place.

Tom Pursglove: The Ministerial Disability Champions (MDC) roundtable scheduled for 15 May 2023 has been rearranged to 26 June 2023. The Government does not plan to publish the minutes from MDC roundtables.

Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to launch its consultation on the Disability Action Plan.

Tom Pursglove: We are planning to consult on the Disability Action Plan this summer, and to publish the final plan once we have fully considered the consultation responses.The consultation in the summer will be an opportunity for everyone - disabled people, disabled people’s organisations, other interested parties - to have their say on the Disability Action Plan.

Universal Credit: Chronic Illnesses and Disability

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2023 to Question 170607 on Universal Credit: Chronic Illnesses and Disability, if he will publish (a) further information about the implementation of Universal Support and (b) final details about eligibility for the programme.

Tom Pursglove: Universal Support will begin in 2024 and provide up to 12 months of high-quality Supported Employment, which adheres to the five stage Supported Employment Model of place, train and maintain. Universal Support will support disabled people, people with health conditions and people with additional barriers to employment, into sustained work.  Full eligibility criteria and the timetable and delivery approach for Universal Support will be confirmed following stakeholder engagement, including with local commissioners and the devolved administrations.

Treasury

Hospitality Industry: Business Rates and VAT

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level at which (a) business rates and (b) VAT are set for (i) micro businesses and (ii) small and medium sized enterprises in the hospitality sector.

Victoria Atkins: The recent revaluation of business rates, which came into effect on 1 April 2023, ensures rateable values, and therefore bills, more accurately reflect current market values. The Government has announced a package worth £13.6 billion over the next five years to support businesses with the revaluation. This includes an increased 75 per cent relief for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, up to a cash cap of £100,000 per business for 2023-2024. This is a tax cut worth over £2 billion for around 230,000 RHL businesses, to support the high street and protect small shops. Regarding small and microbusinesses in particular, the Government has continued its generous Small Business Rate Relief scheme which means properties with a rateable value below £12,000 (over a third of properties, 720,000) pay no business rates at all, with an additional 76,000 in the taper, with a rateable value below £15,000, benefitting from reduced bills. The Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. This is why, at £85,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether (3.1 of 5.6 million). Of the 2.5 million businesses that are registered, 1.2 million exceed the threshold, and roughly 1.3 million are registered voluntarily.

VAT: Registration

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average time was for new businesses to have their VAT registration processed in each of the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: HMRC publishes monthly and quarterly performance data on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports  https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates

Banks: Loans

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing stronger regulatory requirements for banks on disclosure of lending criteria to borrowing customers.

Andrew Griffith: The government is committed to ensuring that consumers are able to access credit where appropriate, so that they can achieve their financial goals. However, the government does not believe that it would be appropriate for lenders to disclose their precise lending criteria. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require lenders to undertake creditworthiness and affordability assessments before lending to a potential borrower. These rules are based on the principle that money should only be lent to a consumer if they can afford to repay it. The rules set out what is expected of firms, and the sanctions if they lend irresponsibly. Firms are free to use a variety of methods and processes to assess credit risk and affordability, and firms can decide what is appropriate in the circumstances. However, every lender will have its own idea of the particular profile of person that it wishes to lend to. Such information is commercially sensitive and its disclosure could lead to consumers being incentivised to provide misleading information in their credit application and accessing credit products that might not be appropriate for them. The government is committed to high regulatory standards and will continue to work with regulators to ensure consumer lending is responsible.

Mortgages: Interest Rates

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has held recent discussions with banks on fixed rate mortgages for first time buyers.

Andrew Griffith: HM Treasury is regularly in contact with mortgage lenders on all aspects of their mortgage business to understand their position and current lending conditions. There is a wide choice of fixed-rate mortgage products available in the market for all prospective buyers. However, the pricing and availability of mortgages is ultimately a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene.

Bank Services: Cryptocurrencies

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the prevalence of the refusal of banks to open accounts for FCA-licensed crypto firms.

Andrew Griffith: The Government is committed to creating a regulatory environment in which firms can innovate, while crucially maintaining financial stability and clear regulatory standards so that people can use new technologies both reliably and safely. The Government believes that effective regulation will create the conditions for cryptoasset service providers to thrive in the UK, and give people and businesses the confidence to invest with an understanding of the often high risks involved. The decisions about what products are offered and to whom remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies. Therefore, while the Government recognises and values the important role of this sector, it would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in these decisions.  However, my officials will continue to engage with industry to understand any emerging issues.

Pension Funds: Cryptoassets

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing regulations on pension investments in the context of trends in relation to digital assets in the global economy.

Andrew Griffith: The Government has set out ambitious plans to robustly regulate cryptoassets activities to mitigate the most significant risks, while harnessing the advantages of crypto technologies. UK investment regulations place a fiduciary responsibility on pension fund trustees and managers to diversify their investment portfolios and seek the highest returns at acceptable levels of risk through a well-designed investment strategy and process. The Government continues to seek ways to encourage trustees and managers to consider a more diverse range of asset classes that will help them achieve this outcome.

Government Securities: Bank of England

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department paid the Bank of England to compensate for losses on bonds last year; and what the budget for such payment is this year.

Andrew Griffith: HM Treasury has indemnified any losses or profits which emerge from the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England’s Quantitative Easing (QE) policy. In the previous financial year (2022-2023), HM Treasury received £4,164mn in excess quarterly profits, while HM Treasury transferred £5,010mn to cover quarterly losses. The net transfers for 2022-2023 were £846mn to cover QE losses. The future financial position of the APF is highly uncertain and will be determined by market conditions and the independent MPC’s approach to sales. As outlined in this year's Mains estimate, HM Treasury has provisioned for £49,100mn of cash transfers to the Bank of England this financial year. This estimate has some conservatism built in to address the uncertainty of future cash flows, resulting in a prudent, but realistic, budget request for 2023-24.

Mortgages: First Time Buyers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to encourage the provision of discounted mortgage products for first time buyers in the context of increased interest rates.

Andrew Griffith: The Government does not set mortgage or interest rates: the pricing and availability of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders, while the Base Rate - which is one factor that lenders may use to set mortgage rates – is set by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, which is independent of Government. However, the Government remains committed to making the aspiration of homeownership a reality for as many households as possible whilst ensuring fairness and value for public money. We operate a range of schemes that aim to increase the supply of low-deposit mortgages for credit-worthy households, including first-time buyers, increase the availability of new housing, and stimulate economic growth. These include the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, which is open until the end of 2023 as well as First Homes and Shared Ownership through the Affordable Homes Programme. The Government also helps first-time buyers to save for a deposit through the Lifetime ISA and Help to Buy: ISA. Over 837,000 households have been helped to purchase a home since Spring 2010 through Government-backed schemes.

Capita: Cybercrime

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with Capita on the potential impact of the cyber attack on their systems on members of the USS pension fund.

Andrew Griffith: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has not held discussions with Capita on the potential impact to members of the USS pension fund from the recent cyber incident. HM Treasury has worked closely with the Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority, and the National Cyber Security Centre to monitor any impacts in the finance sector of the cyber incident. The financial regulators have engaged directly with Capita.

Electric Vehicles: VAT

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an estimate of the average annual amount of VAT paid by electric vehicle drivers (a) with and (b) without home charging.

Victoria Atkins: HM Revenue and Customs do not hold information on the VAT paid on specific products or services because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level on their VAT returns. Requesting these figures will impose excessive administrative burden on businesses.

Electric Vehicles: VAT

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the rate of VAT applied to electric vehicle charging in domestic settings on the take-up of electric vehicles.

Victoria Atkins: The VAT relief for the supply of domestic fuel and power was not designed for charging electric vehicles (EVs) at home. However, the practical challenges of differentiating between the electricity used at home for general domestic purposes and the electricity used to charge EVs means that the relief is effectively being applied to EV charging at home. Although VAT policy has not been designed to incentivise the uptake of EVs, the Government is committed to supporting the transition to zero emission vehicles to help the UK meet its net zero obligations. The Government has already spent over £2 billion to support the transition. With this support, the EV transition is continuing at pace. In 2022, battery electric vehicles made up 16.6 per cent of all new cars sales, up from 11.5 per cent in 2021.

Hospitality Industry: VAT

Dean Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent comparative assessment his Department has made of the impact of the level of VAT rates on the hospitality sector in (a) the UK and (b) the EU.

Victoria Atkins: Since the start of the pandemic, over £37 billion has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks. At £85,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD, which keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT. VAT reliefs in the UK are among the highest in the OECD and mean that 45 per cent of economic activity is not subject to VAT.

Hospitality Industry: VAT

Dean Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made f the impact of the level of VAT on the hospitality sector.

Victoria Atkins: Since the start of the pandemic, over £37 billion has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks. VAT is the UK's third largest tax forecast to raise £161 billion in 2023/2024, helping to fund key spending priorities such as important public services, including the NHS, education and defence. The previous VAT relief for tourism and hospitality cost over £8 billion and reintroducing it would come at a significant further cost. While there are no plans to reduce the rate of VAT paid by hospitality businesses, the Government keeps all taxes under review.

Motor Vehicles: Import Duties

Dave Doogan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will waive vehicle import tax liabilities for a member of the armed forces who has purchased a vehicle under the terms of the Personal Export Scheme and is redeployed to a theatre where they cannot take their vehicle with them and is unable to sell it in their current deployment because it is right hand drive.

Victoria Atkins: The Personal Export Scheme allows entitled customers to buy a motor vehicle in the UK free of VAT for export outside the UK subject to certain conditions. Where a taxpayers plans change unexpectedly, and the vehicle is being re-imported into the UK the customer should contact HMRC’s Personal Transport Unit who will assess the query on a case-by-case basis to determine whether or not import VAT will be due.Further guidance can be found here on the GOV.UK Website here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/personal-export-scheme-notice-707#overview.

Swimming: VAT

Ian Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits for children's participation in swimming of removing VAT from the price of children's swimming lessons.

Victoria Atkins: The standard rate of VAT applies to most goods and services. Exceptions have always been strictly limited by legal and fiscal considerations. Swimming lessons provided by local authorities may be exempt from VAT, as are swimming lessons and other supplies of education made by specified eligible, non-profit making bodies. The Government has no plans to change this. Going further would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. Nevertheless, the Government keeps all taxes under review.

National Insurance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2023 to Question 184648 on National Insurance, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the change to the national insurance credit system from a manual to automated system on the accuracy of national insurance figures distributed to recipients.

Victoria Atkins: National Insurance credits are awarded for various reasons. Those awarded because of entitlement to benefits administered by DWP are awarded using automated interfaces between DWP and HMRC systems. The award of credits on HMRC systems is governed by the data provided by DWP.Taxpayers can view their National Insurance record on their Personal Tax Account. If they think credits are wrong or missing, they are advised to contact either DWP or HMRC, depending on the type of credit they want to query.

National Insurance Contributions: Young People

Julian Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2023 to Question 186161 on National Insurance Contributions: Young People, if he will make it his policy to exempt people under 30 from National Insurance Contributions.

Victoria Atkins: The Government currently has no plans to exempt people under 30 from National Insurance contributions, however the Government does keep all taxes under review.

Hospitality Industry: VAT

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the impact of energy price increases on the hospitality sector; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing VAT on that sector.

Victoria Atkins: The new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) provides all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users including hospitality, with a discount on high energy bills for 12 months from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024. Wholesale gas prices have now fallen to levels before Putin’s invasion. The new EBDS therefore strikes a balance between supporting businesses for a further 12 months, from April 2023 to March 2024, and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets. This provides long-term certainty for businesses and reflects how the scale of the challenge has changed since September last year. Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will also receive a tax cut worth over £2 billion in 2023-2024. Eligible properties will receive 75 per cent off their business rates bill, up to a cap of £110,000 per business with 80 per cent of retail, hospitality and leisure properties seeing their bills falling or staying the same from April 2023. The Government has been clear that the reduced rate of VAT for tourism and hospitality was a temporary measure designed to support the cash flow and viability of sectors that were severely affected by COVID-19. The previous VAT relief cost over £8 billion. Reintroducing it would come at a significant further cost, reducing the money available to help fund key spending priorities, including important public services, such as the NHS, education and defence.

National Insurance Contributions: Young People

Julian Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue the public purse has received from national insurance contributions of people aged under 25 in each of the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: The table below provides estimates and projections of the liabilities from National Insurance Contributions from people aged under 25 for the years 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. This includes Class 1 (not including employer NICs), Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contributions. The 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 figures are outturn figures, based on the 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) respectively. The 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 estimates are all based on the 2019-2020 SPI, projected in line with economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2022 Economic and Fiscal Outlook and are therefore consistent with the Income Tax liabilities published in June 2022.   National Insurance Contributions from people aged under 25 (£million)2018-19 2,950 2019-20 3,030 2020-21 2,610 2021-22 2,800 2022-23 2,750

Dementia: Health Services

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact on access to social care for people with dementia of the inclusion of community interest companies within the VAT exemptions for welfare, services and goods.

Victoria Atkins: Where social care for people with dementia is provided by a state-regulated body then the VAT exemption for welfare services applies. Community interest companies qualify for the VAT exemption for welfare if the activity they provide is required to be regulated by or registered with the relevant regulatory body.

Apprentices: Taxation

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was generated by the apprenticeship levy in each year since its creation.

John Glen: The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in April 2017. Monthly receipts data for the Apprenticeship Levy is published by HM Revenue and Customs in their Tax and NIC Receipts publication which can be found online at:HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Public Sector: Pay Settlements

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the ongoing pay negotiations with public sector workers.

John Glen: The Government put forward an offer to Agenda for Change unions, which the NHS Staff Council have accepted.Pay for most other frontline workforces will be set through an independent Pay Review Body (PRB process). The Government will consider reports submitted by the PRBs and Awards will be announced in due course.

Apprentices: Finance

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding the Scottish Government has received in each year since 2015-16 for the training provided for apprenticeships.

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding the Welsh Government has received in each year since 2015-16 for the training provided for apprenticeships.

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding the Northern Irish Government has received in each year since 2015-16 for the training provided for apprenticeships.

John Glen: Rather than receiving funding for specific programmes or policy areas, the devolved administrations receive block grants from the UK Government. It is generally for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their block grant funding in devolved areas. All changes to devolved administration block grants are published in the Block Grant Transparency document, which is due to be updated shortly. The latest publication is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-december-2021 The devolved administrations are well-funded to deliver all their devolved responsibilities, each receiving over 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK. This is around 25% more for the Scottish Government and around 20% more for the Welsh Government and NI Executive.

Theatres: Tax Allowances

Jamie Stone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending Theatre Tax Relief after 2025.

Victoria Atkins: The Government recognises the value of the UK’s world leading creative industries and arts sectors. At Spring Budget 2023, the Government went further to support theatres through the creative industry tax reliefs. To continue to offset ongoing pressures and boost investment in our cultural sectors, the Government announced a 2-year extension to the current 45 per cent (for non-touring productions) and 50 per cent (for touring productions) rates of theatre tax relief. These rates will now taper to 30 per cent/35 per cent on 1April 2025 and return to 20 per cent/25 per cent on 1 April 2026. The Government keeps the tax system under continuous review. Any changes to tax reliefs will be communicated through the normal fiscal event process.

Department for Business and Trade

Overseas Trade: Cyprus

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of commencing direct maritime shipping routes from the UK to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on levels of trade with that country.

Nigel Huddleston: I refer the Hon Member for East Antrim to the answer given to him by my Hon. Friend for Aldershot, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Europe) at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, on 4th April 2023, UIN: 175568. The Department for Business and Trade refer all north of Cyprus trade enquiries from UK companies to the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce for further information.

Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Andrew Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to ensure meaningful engagement with parliamentary committees on trade negotiations.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government has put in place a suite of transparency and scrutiny arrangements that go well beyond statutory requirements. These were outlined in an exchange of letters with the Lords International Agreements Committee in May 2022. The Government’s commitments include engaging with the relevant Select Committees during the pre-negotiations phase, providing regular written updates during talks and offers of private briefings with negotiating teams; and sharing key documents with Committees prior to publication where possible. We have also committed to ensuring there is extended time for Select Committees to scrutinise final agreements prior to ratification.

Drugs: India

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy that the UK-India free trade agreement does not increase the cost of medicines for (a) the UK, (b) India and (c) other low and middle income countries.

Nigel Huddleston: In negotiations with India, the UK’s approach to intellectual property (IP) is to strike a balance between rewarding research and innovation, which can benefit all countries, whilst reflecting wider public interests such as ensuring access to medicines. We will not agree to any provisions that would increase the cost of medicines for our National Health Service. The NHS, its services, and the cost of medicines are not on the table. In addition to our work on the FTA, we remain committed to the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, and its agreed flexibilities that support access to medicines.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-pacific Partnership
show Related Items (1)

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many meetings her Department had with businesses in the manufacturing sector on the potential impact of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on that sector; and when those meetings took place.

Nigel Huddleston: DBT engaged extensively with a range of stakeholders and experts through technical and strategic discussions to inform our CPTPP negotiations and ensure we were representing the views of sectors across the UK economy. DBT also continually worked with stakeholders to understand concerns and ensure that our negotiations benefited businesses and consumers across the UK. Our post-round reporting ensured stakeholders were kept up to date throughout the process. This included, but was not limited to, one-to-one meetings at a senior level and with officials, roundtables with relevant stakeholders, monthly calls on communications for business organisations, Quarterly Stakeholder Briefings, Advisory Group Up-dates, and sector-specific briefings, including with the manufacturing sector.

Drugs: India

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Government has made an assessment of the impact of pre-grant oppositions in India on access to medicine.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK’s approach to intellectual property (IP) with all partners is to strike a balance between rewarding research and innovation, which can benefit all countries, whilst reflecting wider public interests such as ensuring access to medicines. We do not comment on specifics of live negotiations.

Strategic Trade Advisory Group and Trade Advisory Groups

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 110733 on Strategic Trade Advisory Group and Trade Advisory Groups, whether it remains her Department's policy to implement wider reforms in relation to the role of Trade Advisory Groups; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department for Business and Trade is reforming its approach to external engagement to meet the needs of industry and match the priorities of the new Department. A new approach will be set out in due course, but in the meantime the Department continues to engage with a full range of interested parties on key issues.

Trade Advisory Groups

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will list the date of the most recent meeting for each of the trade advisory groups.

Nigel Huddleston: The most recent formal meeting dates of each of the Trade Advisory Groups are listed below: Agri-Food: 12/05/2022Automotive, Aerospace & Marine: 27/04/2022British Manufactured & Consumer Goods: 23/06/2022Chemicals: 6/03/2023Creative Industries: 21/09/2022Financial Services: 20/02/2023Investment: 19/05/2022Life Sciences: 10/06/2022Professional Advisory Services: 18/05/2022Telecoms & Technology: 05/05/2022Transport Services: 21/06/2022

Strategic Trade Advisory Group and Trade Advisory Groups

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 110733 on Strategic Trade Advisory Group and Trade Advisory Groups, when she plans to publish an updated membership list for the Trade Advisory Groups.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department for Business and Trade is reforming its approach to external engagement to meet the needs of industry and match the priorities of the new Department. A new approach, including membership, will be set out in due course, but in the meantime the Department continues to engage with a full range of interested parties on key issues.

Cars: Manufacturing Industries

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the budget for subsidies to attract investment in car and battery manufacture (a) was this year and (b) will be next year.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HM Government has allocated £257m of capital budget for supply chain and finished vehicle manufacturing for this financial year (2023/24) and £268m for the next financial year (2024/25). In addition, through the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Faraday Battery Challenge programmes, with budgets of £127.1m this financial year (2023/24) and £77.5m next year (2024/25), the Government supports research and development into the next generation of low carbon and zero emission vehicle technologies and the design, development, manufacturing, and recycling of electric batteries.

Department for Business and Trade: Equality

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many people were employed by her Department to work on matters relating to equality, diversity and inclusivity in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

Nigel Huddleston: As of 31/03/21 DIT had 5 members of staff working on matters relating to equality, diversity, and inclusivity as well as broader HR activity to develop culture and engagement across the workforce. The same number were in place on 31/03/22.

Electric Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking in response to the US Inflation Reduction Act to safeguard UK electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industries; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of that Act on the motor industry in the North East.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: As automotive manufacturing is vital in delivering the Government’s agendas including levelling up in regions such as the North East, we are determined to ensure the UK remains one of the best locations in the world for the sector. The Government continues to work both internationally and domestically to understand and minimise the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act on British business. Building on existing interventions we will take decisive action in the coming months to ensure future investment in zero emission vehicle manufacturing.

Exports: Government Assistance

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support businesses to export.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government’s Export Strategy, ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’, supports businesses through a 12 point plan which targets barriers to trade and helps them at every stage of their export journey. My Department supports companies through its network of domestic and overseas trade advisers, sector specialists, the Export Support Service, and the Export Academy, as well as UK Export Finance (UKEF) which ensures that no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance.

Apprentices: Cost of Living

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of the National Minimum Wage Apprentice Rate on the ability of apprentices to afford (a) housing and (b) food in (i) Enfield North constituency and (ii) the UK.

Kevin Hollinrake: On 1 April 2023, the Apprentice National Minimum Wage (ANMW) rate increased by 9.7% to £5.28. This is an above inflation increase and worth over £850 a year before tax for a full-time apprentice. The ANMW is designed and set at a rate that acknowledges the particular costs for employers and benefits for young people involved in the provision of apprenticeships and which does not adversely affect apprenticeship opportunities in the labour market. The Government has published a full impact assessment on gov.uk that assesses the regional impacts of the National Minimum Wage increase.

Post Offices: ICT

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what her Department's planned timescale is for paying compensation to sub-postmasters that are eligible for the Group Litigation Order Compensation Scheme.

Kevin Hollinrake: To date, interim payments totalling £19.2m have been paid to 467 Group Litigation Order (GLO) postmasters. The full GLO scheme opened for registrations on 10 February 2023 and opened for full applications on 23 March. We are already making good progress: over 85% of claimants are now registered. The Government remains committed to paying fair compensation to all eligible GLO scheme claimants by August 2024. That is why we have committed to publish a timeline for delivering the scheme following discussion with the claimants’ legal representatives.

Northern Ireland Office

Tourism: Northern Ireland and West Midlands

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to increase tourism between Northern Ireland and the West Midlands.

Mr Steve Baker: Tourism is a transferred matter for the Northern Ireland Executive, with the Department for the Economy and Tourism NI leading on supporting tourism in Northern Ireland. However, the UK Government recognises the importance of supporting this vital industry for the Northern Ireland economy and of increasing tourism between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, including the West Midlands. Through the Union Connectivity Review, the UK Government is looking at how to further support transport links in Northern Ireland and between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Strong transport connections are important for our economic growth, and the Government is committed to further connecting our towns, cities and communities across the UK, which will boost tourism. The Government has already taken action to support air connectivity across the UK and following its commitment to review Air Passenger Duty (APD) in January 2020, and as announced at the Budget on 27 October 2021, the Government introduced a 50% cut in domestic APD in April 2023 to bolster air connectivity within the UK and make flying from the West Midlands and elsewhere to Northern Ireland even cheaper.

Women and Equalities

Guide Dogs: Business Premises

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that guide dog users are protected from access refusals.

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will take steps to introduce enforceable penalties for businesses who refuse access to guide dog users.

Stuart Andrew: No one should be refused access to businesses or services because they use a guide or other assistance dog. Under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), businesses and public bodies that provide goods and services to the public must not unlawfully discriminate against disabled people, including those with assistance dogs. The Act places a duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises, buildings and services. This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers. Parliament intended the Act to guide the policies of service providers, including those exercising public functions, as well as providing legal protection. Failure by a service provider to comply with the Act by making a reasonable adjustment will mean that they have unlawfully discriminated on grounds of disability. People who feel that they have been discriminated against can use other provisions within the Act to seek redress against a non-compliant service provider, including going to Court if necessary. This is the case for all the other protected characteristics in the Act and the Government has no plans to amend this process, which is based on the long-established civil law principle that it is for an aggrieved person to enforce the law.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to the Civil Service headquarters occupancy data, updated on 1 June 2022, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of occupancy rates on his Department's performance during May 2023.

David T C Davies: During May 2023, the Wales Office was fully focused on delivering the Government’s key priorities for Wales; supporting economic growth in Wales, strengthening and sustaining the Union and Wales’s role within it, and increasing the visibility of the Government’s commitment to Wales. This included visits by the Ministerial team to highlight UK Government investment in Wales, including in grassroots sporting facilities; meeting key Welsh businesses, including Airbus; launching the Government’s National Semiconductor Strategy with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology; engaging with local partners following our success in securing two freeports for Wales and continuing to work closely with local authorities to ensure our £790 million investment in City and Regional Growth Deals in Wales delivers jobs and economic growth. The Wales Office is keeping our ways of working under review, taking into account a variety of factors including current performance.

River Wye: Pollution Control

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Welsh Government reduces pollution in the River Wye.

David T C Davies: Water quality is a devolved matter in Wales. However, the UK Government is working closely with the Welsh Government on cross-border rivers like the River Wye. On 30 May 2023, the DEFRA Secretary of State and Welsh Government’s Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS, visited Hereford to discuss the River Wye at a roundtable with Hereford Council local environmental groups and farming representatives. The roundtable agreed to consider water quality issues in the Wye, including how national policies and closer cooperation between UK Government and the Welsh Government could better help local actors to restore the river.

Wales Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for March 2023, what items his Department purchased from Barrow Hepburn and Gale on 19 March 2023; and for what purpose those items were purchased.

David T C Davies: The items purchased from Barrow Hepburn and Gale on 19 March 2023 were: Ministerial box (x2), Ministerial box repair (x1), normal Ministerial folder (x4), narrow Ministerial folder (x4) and Privy Seals box repair (x1).The purpose of these purchases was to update and replace the folders and boxes used by Wales Office Ministers with His Majesty The King’s cypher, following the passing of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Wales Office: Equality

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many people were employed by his Department to work on matters relating to equality, diversity and inclusivity in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

David T C Davies: The Wales Office had no staff employed to work solely on matters relating to equality, diversity, and inclusivity in 2021 and 2022.

Department for Transport

Network Rail: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the number of directly employed Network Rail infrastructure workers on the railway network.

Huw Merriman: Network Rail employs a total of approximately 42,000 employees across Great Britain, with approximately 10,000 working as operatives, technicians, team leaders or supervisors in maintenance.

Railways: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the number of outsourced infrastructure workers by company on the railway network.

Huw Merriman: Neither the Department for Transport nor Network Rail hold this information.

Railways: Tickets

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 5 June 2023 to Question 186535 on Railways: Tickets, what proportion of stations outside of London (a) have digital barcode ticketing and (b) are PAYG enabled; and if he will provide a list of stations outside London which have access to digital barcode ticketing and PAYG.

Huw Merriman: Barcode ticketing is already available on many routes across the country, and we are investing to roll out barcode ticketing across outstanding areas of the network, including c2c, Southeastern and Govia Thameslink Railway by the end of this year. We have committed to expanding PAYG to a further 52 stations in the South East by the end of the year, and are also currently working with local authorities on PAYG proposals for Manchester and the West Midlands as committed in the trailblazer devolution deals.

Cross Country Trains and Great Western Railway: WiFi

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with (a) Great Western Railway and (b) CrossCountry about the removal of wi-fi from their trains in the south west of England.

Huw Merriman: The Department has recently asked Great Western Railway and CrossCountry, as well as its other rail operators, to review the provision of Wi-Fi across their different service groups. No decisions have been taken.

Network Rail: Zero Hours Contracts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information Network Rail holds on the number of outsourced rail infrastructure workers who are employed on zero hours contracts.

Huw Merriman: Neither the Department for Transport nor Network Rail hold this information.

Network Rail: Conditions of Employment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information Network Rail holds on the number of outsourced rail infrastructure workers who are employed (a) on self-employed contracts and (b) by umbrella companies.

Huw Merriman: Neither the Department for Transport nor Network Rail hold this information.

Railways: Lincolnshire

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to invest in rail infrastructure in Lincolnshire

Huw Merriman: Investment will see us continue to support ambitious and transformative growth plans for our railways, particularly in the North and Midlands. The way people use the railway is changing and we are investing to make sure it supports passengers, freight and the economy for the future. The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) commits to upgrading and improving line speeds and capacity on the East Coast Main Line, which will have benefits to services to Lincoln. We have provided Network Rail with early-stage development funding to begin consideration of how these ambitious route-wide plans can be delivered as efficiently as possible. This IRP activity will build upon the £1.2 billion East Coast Enhancements Programme – a collection of infrastructure upgrades across the route, helping to deliver journey time, reliability and capacity improvements.

Network Rail: Contracts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which sub-contracted infrastructure companies operating contracts tendered by Network Rail had contracts greater than £10 million in each of the financial years during control period 6.

Huw Merriman: This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Network Rail: Contracts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the value of contracts tendered to outsourced infrastructure companies by Network Rail for each financial year between 2023-24 and 2029-30 during control period 7.

Huw Merriman: Network Rail publish a pipeline of their upcoming tenders and make it available to external stakeholders via their website: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/industry-and-commercial/supply-chain/procurement/.

Members: Correspondence

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to correspondence of 3 April 2023 from the hon. Member for Lewisham East, case reference JD33646.

Jesse Norman: The response to the honourable Member’s correspondence was sent on 9 June.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what income was generated by Road Tax in the last five financial years.

Mr Richard Holden: The amount of vehicle excise duty collected in the last five financial years for which audited figures are available, is shown in the table below. 2017/182018/192019/202020/212021/22 £millionVehicle Excise Duty6,0016,3906,7756,8987,133 As with all taxation, HM Treasury owns the policy on VED.

Rolling Stock: Newcastle upon Tyne

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to (a) improve, (b) repair and (c) replace train stock in the Newcastle depot; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing train stock.

Huw Merriman: There are several train operators that undertake activities at Newcastle Heaton Depot. It is a matter for each of those train operators to ensure that their fleets are maintained appropriately and to potentially develop proposals to improve or replace fleets to meet the needs of their passengers.

Shipping: Inspections

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May to Question 185942 on Shipping: Inspections, what steps his Department is taking to shorten the time taken by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to undertake surveys and safety inspections on fishing vessels for first time applicants.

Mr Richard Holden: All surveys on fishing vessels require a full check of compliance against Statutory requirements. As these requirements are safety related, all areas of compliance are required to be checked prior to issuing a certificate, the scope of the survey cannot be reduced. Waiting times around the country for a survey vary depending on the time of year and local demand for this activity. The MCA work closely with applicants to arrange a convenient time and consider other external factors such as tide times. In 2022, the MCA carried out over 1200 inspections on small fishing vessels and remains committed to reducing fatalities within the sector. Significant time savings in completing a survey can however be made when a vessel is properly prepared in advance of surveyor attendance. For this reason, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have produced guidance on how to prepare a vessel for survey. This guidance, which is available online, is of particular value to first time applicants who may be unfamiliar with the requirements and the survey process and if followed will ensure their survey is completed in the most efficient timescale. Links to this guidance along with other useful information related to their vessel is sent to owners of small fishing vessels when they request a survey.

Railways: Timetables

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of implications for his policies of the decision by the Office of Rail and Road to change timetable publishing periods from 12 to eight weeks.

Huw Merriman: Network Rail is seeking to reduce the time it takes to produce rail timetables to improve the industry's ability to respond more quickly to changes in demand patterns. This would mean that final timetables are published eight weeks in advance rather than 12 weeks as they are currently required to do. Plans for this change have not been finalised and are a decision for the rail industry. The plans would require a change to the Network Licence Conditions for Network Rail. In response to Network Rail’s proposal, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the regulator, launched a formal public consultation seeking to take public views into account when making its decision about the licence change. The consultation ended on 25 May 2023 and the ORR are currently assessing stakeholders’ views before re-engaging with the industry on the matter. In anticipation of this change taking place, Network Rail has been working with operators to develop systems that would enable provisional timetables to be published earlier to facilitate advance ticket booking - a measure I firmly support. The Department expects the rail industry to ensure that passengers are at the heart of decision making and that any new processes protect and enhance the customer experience.

Railways: Stockport

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of how may passengers boarded a rail service from Stockport station in each of the last 12 months.

Huw Merriman: The Office of Rail and Road produces annual estimates on the number of entries, exits and interchanges at each station across the network. It is expected that they will publish their figures for April 2022 to March 2023 in November of this year, whilst records for the rail year April 2021 to March 2022 and those prior can be found on the ORR website.

Network Rail: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of rail infrastructure workers not employed by Network Rail who hold personal track safety certificates.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on recorded safety incidents occurring on the rail network involving subcontracted workers during control period 6.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on recorded safety incidents involving rail infrastructure workers who hold personal track safety certificates who are not employed by Network Rail during control period 6.

Huw Merriman: My Department does not gather or hold data on safety incidents that have occurred on the rail network involving sub-contracted workers. The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) record this data for the mainline railway in Great Britain via its Safety Management Intelligence System.

Driving Tests: Southend on Sea

Sir James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving tests were conducted at the Southend Driving Test Centre in each year since 2010.

Mr Richard Holden: The table below shows the number of car practical driving tests conducted at Southend-on-Sea driving test centre each year. The test centre did not open until May 2012.Year (April to April)No. of driving tests conducted at Southend-on-Sea driving test centre2012 to 201322342013 to 201438692014 to 201550642015 to 201657722016 to 201766392017 to 201864852018 to 201968252019 to 202063062020 to 202112012021 to 20224581

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage HGV drivers over the age of 60 to continue working; and whether his Department is taking steps to (a) reduce the cost for the Driver Qualification Card and (b) remove other barriers for people in this age range.

Mr Richard Holden: The five-yearly renewal of lorry and bus licences from age 45, and annual renewal from age 65 require an HGV driver to make a declaration regarding their health and to submit a medical report. This process is designed to be balanced and proportionate and reflect the greater road safety risks posed by the driving of larger vehicles. Age on its own is not a reliable indicator of health, however, it is widely accepted that the likelihood of developing conditions which may affect fitness to drive increases with age. The Department for Transport has consulted on possible reforms to the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, which was enabled by the UK leaving the European Union. Officials are reviewing responses to proposals, which include reforms to make renewal of cards and re-entry to the sector more proportionate for experienced drivers. Welfare is key to driver retention and improving lorry parking facilities continues to be a central component of this work. Lorry drivers will soon benefit from improved roadside facilities and safer rest areas thanks to up to £100 million investment from industry and Government via the ‘HGV parking and welfare grant scheme’ and National highways funding to improve roadside facilities. This funding will support operators to improve security, showers and eating facilities.

Motor Vehicles: Safety

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals under the Environment Act 2021 on the compulsory recall of vehicles and engines on the grounds that relevant environmental standards are not met.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department is currently working with stakeholders to develop an environmental recall regime and expect a public consultation to be available later this year followed by subsequent draft legislation in 2024.

Large Goods Vehicles: Concrete

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential financial impact on the haulage industry of capacity limitations on volumetric concrete mixers.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department has not made a recent assessment of the potential financial impacts on the haulage industry on the capacity of volumetric concrete mixers (VCMs).

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plan to impose financial penalties on vehicle manufacturers who used defeat devices.

Mr Richard Holden: Under powers introduced under this government, the Secretary of State has civil powers to fine up to £50,000 in respect of defeat device usage per offence. If the offence is prosecuted as a criminal offence, in particularly serious cases in England that can increase to an unlimited fine.

Large Goods Vehicles: Concrete

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact on the environment of capacity limitations on volumetric concrete mixers.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department has not made a recent assessment of the potential impacts on the environment of the capacity limitations on volumetric concrete mixers (VCMs).

Active Travel: Expenditure

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of his Department's combined resource and capital expenditure was spent on active travel projects in the 2022-23 financial year.

Jesse Norman: Around £3 billion is projected to be invested in active travel in the 5 years up to 2025, despite the need for efficiency savings across Government due to global financial pressures. This includes £273m spent on ringfenced active travel projects and programmes in the financial year of 2022-23. This represents 1% of the department’s total expenditure in 2022-23. In addition to this, funding was spent on active travel projects from wider sources such as the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements and the Levelling Up Fund.

Great British Railways: Derby

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to acquire premises for Great British Railways in Derby.

Huw Merriman: The Great British Railways Transition Team are working with local partners in Derby to prepare for the Great British Railways headquarters.

Active Travel: Expenditure

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of his Department's combined resource and capital expenditure is forecast to be spent on active travel projects in (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.

Jesse Norman: Around £3 billion is projected to be invested in active travel in the 5 years up to 2025, despite the need for efficiency savings across Government due to global financial pressures. This sum includes at least £250 million of ringfenced revenue and capital funding for active travel infrastructure over the two-year period of 2023-24 to 2024-25. The £3 billion also includes funding from wider sources such as the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements and the Levelling Up Fund. Planned expenditure on ringfenced active travel funding (£250m across 2023-24 and 2024-25), represents around 0.4% and 0.5% of the Department’s total planned expenditure for the period of 2023-24 and 2024-25.The budget for the 2025-26 financial year has not yet been agreed and will be set as part of the next Spending Review.

Network Rail: Contracts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the value of contracts tendered to sub-contracted infrastructure companies by Network Rail in each financial year since 2019-20 during control period 6.

Huw Merriman: This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Railways: Tooting

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passengers boarded a rail service from Tooting rail station in the last 12 months.

Huw Merriman: The Office of Rail and Road produces annual estimates on the number of entries, exits and interchanges at each station across the network. It is expected that they will publish their figures for April 2022 to March 2023 in November of this year, whilst records for the rail year April 2021 to March 2022 and those prior can be found on the ORR website.

DfT OLR Holdings: Fares

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to introduce single leg pricing in each of the train services now being run by the Operator of Last Resort; and by what timeline.

Huw Merriman: We are now rolling out single leg pricing to most of London North Eastern Railway’s (LNER’s) network following a successful trial. Tickets went on sale from Sunday 14 May 2023 for travel from Sunday 11 June. We will carefully consider the impacts of expanding single leg pricing to most of LNER’s network before taking decisions on any wider extension.

Railways: Tooting

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help improve the punctuality of rail services at Tooting rail station.

Huw Merriman: My Department monitors punctuality closely and continues to engage with Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail to deliver performance improvement plans in this area. On Time performance at Tooting station for the 2022-23 rail year was 79.6 per cent, above the national average of 67.8 per cent for the same time period. Since December 2022, On Time performance has improved across the network each period and currently stands at 75.5 per cent.

Govia Thameslink Railway: Rolling Stock

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there are plans to upgrade rolling stock on the Govia Thameslink Railway route from King’s Cross to King’s Lynn.

Huw Merriman: This route is operated by modern Class 387 and, with effect from May 2023, a limited number of Class 700 trains per day, both of which are less than ten years old. There are currently no plans to upgrade these train interiors; however, they will be fitted with new technology from the £1.8 billion investment under the East Coast Digital Programme which will deliver signalling upgrades resulting in an even safer, more reliable and resilient East Coast Mainline.

Railways: Tooting

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of rail services that ran from Tooting rail station were cancelled in the last 12 months.

Huw Merriman: During May 2022 to May 2023, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) cancellation levels were 5.9 per cent across the network and 7.3 per cent at Tooting station. Reliability remains a priority for my Departments and I am encouraged by improvements in recent months; GTR’s Cancellations were 3.6 per cent over the most recent rail period between 30 April 2023 to 27 May 2023. This is GTR’s best cancellation performance since May 2021 and levels at Tooting over this same period totalled 2.6 per cent

DfT OLR Holdings: Fares

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to roll out demand-based pricing at each of the train services being run by the Operator of Last Resort.

Huw Merriman: LNER is developing the proposal for the forthcoming trial of demand-based pricing and more details will be announced in due course. We will evaluate the impact of the trial before considering next steps.

Shipping: Carbon Emissions

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) development and (b) procurement of decarbonising technology in the maritime sector.

Mr Richard Holden: My department is supporting the decarbonisation of the UK maritime sector through a two-pronged approach: R&D funding and investment through the £206m UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme, the biggest government investment ever in our commercial maritime sector, accompanied by a comprehensive policy and regulatory programme. So far UK SHORE has invested R&D funding to the tune of over £95m in three rounds of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, £7.4m in a Clean Maritime Research Hub in partnership with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and £77m Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition, which will see three-year demonstrations of operational zero emission vessels and the infrastructure needed to support them deployed by 2025.

Railways: South Yorkshire

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans for the electrification of the railway line between Stockport and Sheffield.

Huw Merriman: In Decarbonising Transport: a Better, Greener Britain, the government committed to deliver a net zero rail network by 2050. To do so we will electrify additional lines and encourage deployment of battery and hydrogen trains on lines where it makes economic and operational sense.In relation to individual railway routes, the Great British Railways Transition Team will bring forward costed decarbonisation options for Government to carefully consider in terms of overall deliverability and affordability.

National Highways: Finance

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 31 May 2023 to Questions 186522 and 186525 on Roads: Active Travel, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that National Highways has the resources to (a) deliver and (b) monitor the delivery of the Government's (i) ambition and (ii) objectives for walking and cycling as set out in the second cycling and walking investment strategy.

Mr Richard Holden: National Highways is committed to support all road users including walkers, cyclists and horse-riders. The £24bn funding for the current road period (2020-2025) includes Designated Funds which is one of the key funding vehicles for active travel investment. Through this fund, National Highways is providing new infrastructure for these users and enhancing existing facilities though targeted local investment. This investment supports the government’s cycling and walking strategy. National Highways is working closely with Active Travel England to establish a platform for effective co-operation and understanding. National Highways recognises the importance of their shared interest in supporting active travel for their customers, the development of active travel networks, and the need to collaboratively develop the relationship to maximise the benefits for their customers, communities and the environment.

Great British Railways: Costs

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what was the cost to the public purse of the (a) set-up and (b) operation of (i) Great British Railways and (ii) the Great British Railways Transition Team in the (A) 2021-22 and (B) 2022-23 financial years.

Huw Merriman: The cost to the public purse of the set-up and operation of the Great British Railways Transition Team was £12.2m in 2021-22 and £52.1m 2022-23. Great British Railways has not yet been established. The cost of establishment and ongoing operations of Great British Railways will be confirmed in the final business case.

Railways: Disability

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing fines for rail passengers who block access to spaces on trains designated for wheelchairs with luggage or other items.

Huw Merriman: It is important that spaces designated for wheelchairs on trains remain available for those who need them. As part of their Accessible Travel Policy operators must make every reasonable effort to ensure that disabled passengers can obtain a seat on a train, particularly where these are not reservable, and that wheelchair users are able to use wheelchair spaces.

Great British Railways: Derby City Council

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings his Department has held with representatives of Derby City Council on (a) Great British Railways and (b) the Great British Railways Transition Team since 21 March 2023.

Huw Merriman: The Department for Transport works very closely with the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT), with daily contact. The Department has asked GBRTT to work with Derby City Council to establish the GBR headquarters.

Railways: Enfield North

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of rail services that ran from train stations in Enfield North constituency were cancelled in the last 12 months.

Huw Merriman: The stations in Enfield North are served by a number of train operators. In the period May 2022 to May 2023, Greater Anglia had a cancellation rate of 1.6 per cent across the network and an average of 2.57 per cent on the route serving Waltham Cross, Enfield Lock and Brimsdown. Govia Thameslink Railway had levels of 5.9 per cent across the network and 5.7 per cent between Gordon Hill, Crews Hill and Enfield Chase. Cancellations remain a priority for my Department, and I am encouraged by strong improvements in recent months, including the best cancellation rates since May 2021 in the most recent rail period of 30 April to 27 May 2023.

Railways: Stockport

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of rail services from Stockport train station were cancelled in the last 12 months.

Huw Merriman: The Department does not hold this information. However, it is available from the Office of Rail and Road website.

Motor Vehicles: Ambulance Services

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of dual crewed emergency ambulances have entered service with Vehicle Certification Agency Whole Vehicle Type Approval since 1 April 2022.

Mr Richard Holden: Information on the number of dual crewed emergency ambulances that have entered service with Vehicle Certification Agency Whole Vehicle Type Approval is not recorded.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Internet

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the prevalence of lorry drivers live streaming while operating their vehicles; and if he will take steps to prevent drivers from using platforms such as Tiktok whilst on the roads.

Mr Richard Holden: We keep offences and penalties under review. If a driver is using a hand-held mobile phone while driving, this is an offence which attracts a Fixed Penalty Notice of £200. If the case goes to the magistrates court, the maximum fine for lorry drivers is £2,500. The Highway Code reminds drivers of their obligation to concentrate and avoid distractions and drivers can incur enforcement action for engaging in irresponsible activities whilst driving. For example, wider road traffic law governs what drivers can view on a screen; and it obliges drivers to be in proper control of the vehicle and to drive with due care and attention. The police are responsible for enforcement.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Industrial Disputes

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency is taking to reduce the potential impact of industrial action on its services.

Mr Richard Holden: Sporadic industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union has been targeted at various areas of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The DVLA has taken steps to minimise any disruption and the impact on customers has been minimal. The quickest and easiest way to transact with the DVLA is by using its extensive suite of online services and motorists are strongly advised to use these services where possible.

Taxis: Training

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Government Response Report of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing, published in February 2019, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce mandatory disability equality training for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.

Mr Richard Holden: In the 2019 response to the report of the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) licensing, the government committed to require the completion of disability awareness training by drivers when Parliamentary time allowed. This remains our position.In the meantime, in 2022 we consulted on updated best practice guidance for taxi and PHV licensing authorities, including a recommendation that drivers are required to complete such training. The consultation response and substantive guidance will be published in due course.

Buses: Carbon Emissions

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of zero-emission buses expected to be licensed for use as public transport vehicles by (a) 31 December 2023, (b) 30 June 2024 and (c) 31 December 2024.

Mr Richard Holden: Across the UK, an estimated 3,400 zero emission buses have been funded since February 2020.The Department does not routinely produce estimates for the number and proportion of zero emission buses expected to be licenced for use as public transport vehicles for dates in the future.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Post Office

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on the future of its contract with the Post Office.

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made a recent estimate of the impact of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency contract with the Post Office on annual Post Office revenues.

Mr Richard Holden: Post Office Ltd currently provides a limited range of DVLA services and an extension to the current contract has recently been agreed. The DVLA wants its customers to be able to access its services as quickly and as easily as possible and the role of front office counter services will form part of the considerations of future service offerings, utilising government agreements if necessary. The issue of annual Post Office revenues is a matter for Post Office Ltd.

Motor Vehicles: Hydrogen

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing Hydrogen transport hubs.

Jesse Norman: The Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub is the Department for Transport’s dedicated hydrogen R&D programme. The Hub has established links between industry and government, and is collocating hydrogen supply and demand by deploying refuelling infrastructure and vehicles in the Tees Valley. These demonstrations are expected to generate lessons for other areas seeking to decarbonise transport using hydrogen. The Tees Valley Hub is a blueprint, with an evaluation framework which focuses on sharing information to support other regions. This includes lessons for reaching commercial maturity of infrastructure and vehicles, where hydrogen can work well across transport modes and what skills are needed to support the decarbonisation transition.

Electric Vehicles: Hire Services

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a similar scheme to the electric vehicle social leasing scheme in France.

Jesse Norman: Government grants have been in place for over a decade to help reduce the up-front purchase price of electric vehicles. The Government is targeting its funding to where they have the most impact and to deliver the greatest value for money to the taxpayer. This includes grants for vans, trucks, taxis and wheelchair accessible vehicles, as well as significant investment in charging infrastructure. The Government keeps the support for ZEV transition under regular review.

Roads: Hampshire

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) strategic and (b) major road network in (i) Hampshire and (ii) surrounding counties on roads that continue out of Hampshire.

Mr Richard Holden: On the Major Road Network, the Department is providing £13.4m to improvements to the A35 Redbridge Causeway, due to complete construction by the end of 2023. Our pipeline of schemes in the Major Road Network programme also includes the A326 Waterside improvements in Hampshire and improvements to the A31 Farnham Corridor (Surrey), both subject to business case approval. On the Strategic Road Network, we have recently invested £282m on the M27 junctions 4 to 11 scheme which opened to traffic in June 2022. We are also committed to two other schemes in Hampshire; the M3 Junction 9 and M27 Junction 8, which are due to start construction before the end of 2024/25. Finally, as part of our considerations for future road periods beyond 2030, National Highways are considering the case for improving junction 3 of the M27, improving connections onto the A270 into Southampton

M49: Repairs and Maintenance

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has taken recent steps to connect junction one of the M49 to the road network.

Mr Richard Holden: National Highways has committed funding towards construction of the link road from M49 Avonmouth Junction to Severnside Industrial Estate and Enterprise Area. The works will be delivered by South Gloucestershire Council.

Motorways: Safety

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a comparative assessment of the level of safety on motorways in (a) the UK, (b) France, (c) Spain and (d) Austria; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of motorway speed limits on safety in those countries.

Mr Richard Holden: Across all road classifications, the UK has some of the safest roads in the world. According to the latest (2021) international safety data consolidated and published by DfT, Great Britain and Northern Ireland have lower rates of road fatalities per million people than most European countries, including Germany, Spain and France. We do not have comparative figures specifically for Motorways.

Motorways: Speed Limits

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of variable speed limits on smart motorways on the economy.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he plans to remove variable speed limits from existing smart motorways.

Mr Richard Holden: Motorway speed limits benefit the economy by reducing congestion through smoothing, increasing motorway capacity and helping to prevent the significant economic cost of accidents. There are no plans to remove them.

Hydrogen Fuelling Stations

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of hydrogen refuelling stations across the road network.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure a sufficient level of infrastructure across the UK to support the demand for hydrogen vehicles in road transport.

Jesse Norman: There are seven publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations in the UK, with five more planned, serving a fleet of approximately 230 vehicles including buses, HGVs and light duty cars and vans. Government support for additional hydrogen refuelling infrastructure will be linked to specific R&D programmes that will provide a base level of demand.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to publish the response to the Supporting Recycled Carbon Fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation consultation.

Jesse Norman: The Department has carefully analysed responses to the consultation “Supporting Recycled Carbon Fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation” and will be publishing the Government response as soon as possible.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Holiday Accommodation: Taxation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on access for HM Revenue and Customs to the proposed registration scheme for short-term lets in England.

Sir John Whittingdale: Following last year's Call for Evidence, in December 2022 the Government introduced a registration scheme for short-term lets in England in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. On 12 April 2023, a consultation was published which sought views on details about how the scheme will operate. The consultation closed on 7 June 2023 and the Government is working to analyse responses.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will work with the relevant Government departments, including HMRC and HM Treasury, on the design of the registration scheme and to ensure that different measures which apply to short-term lets are proportionate, complementary and easy to understand.

Holiday Accommodation: Licensing

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to set a deadline for bringing forward legislative proposals to deliver the legal framework for a short-term let registration scheme in England.

Sir John Whittingdale: Following last year's Call for Evidence, in December 2022 the Government introduced a registration scheme for short-term lets in England in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. On 12 April 2023, a consultation was published which sought views on details about how the scheme will operate. The consultation closed on 7 June 2023, and the Government is working to analyse responses.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will work with the relevant Government departments on the design of the registration scheme and to ensure that different measures which apply to short-term lets are proportionate, complementary and easy to understand.

Arts

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the Creative Industries Sector Vision.

Sir John Whittingdale: The UK’s creative industries are world-leading, generating £108 billion for our economy in 2021, and employing two million people. The Government wants to maximise the potential of these industries, and will be publishing our Creative Industries Sector Vision imminently. It will set out this Government's plan to grow the creative industries by £50 billion and support a million more jobs by 2030.

Educational Visits: Foreign Nationals

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to encourage school groups from abroad to visit the UK.

Sir John Whittingdale: The UK Government wants to see a growing, dynamic, and sustainable tourism sector reach its full potential and drive growth in every nation and region of the UK. Educational travel plays an important part in this.The Tourism Recovery Plan recognises educational travel as an important part of the visitor economy, and a driver of the UK’s soft power on the world stage.The Government updated the International Education Strategy, renewing a commitment to attract international students. The Strategy also recognises the crucial contribution of English Language Training to the UK’s soft power.Furthermore, VisitBritain runs a number of campaigns to attract visitors from around the world, including school groups.

Members: Correspondence

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to correspondence of 15 March 2023 from the hon. Member for Lewisham East, case reference JD33004.

Sir John Whittingdale: A reply was issued on 7 June 2023.

Theatres

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to support touring theatre (a) companies and (b) productions.

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of theatre touring on the Government's levelling up agenda.

Sir John Whittingdale: Touring plays an important role in sharing diverse and high-quality productions with audiences across the UK, and the Government has invested in theatres across the country to enrich our cultural offering.As announced at the most recent Budget, theatres will be able to benefit from the Government's extension of the higher rates of theatre and orchestra tax relief for a further two years. The rate of higher relief will be 45% for non-touring productions and 50% for touring productions until 31 March 2025. This extension will boost investment in our cultural sectors, as well as supporting many productions to tour.Our arm’s-length body, Arts Council England, supports touring and encourages National Portfolio Organisations it funds to tour productions across the country. For 2023/24 the Arts Council has recently confirmed a flexible allocation of £12 million for touring within its overall National Lottery Project Grants programme. As an example of previous support, the National Theatre’s Theatre Nation Partnerships received a £1.2 million grant to support touring in a number of areas with low levels of cultural engagement, including Levelling Up for Culture Places. Between November 2021 and February 2023, there were 75 awards from this budget totalling over £8.5 million to support touring across the country.Arts Council England works with organisations on plans for touring, and is due to launch refreshed guidance in October 2023 which will outline how it has improved its Touring Fund to support relevant organisations.

Theatres: Capital Investment

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to increase the availability of capital investment to theatres.

Sir John Whittingdale: Yes - there are a number of public funds which support investment in theatres and in the wider performing arts and cultural sectors. This includes £546 million which was awarded in January 2023 to 31 cultural and heritage projects as part of the second round of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, £76 million of capital investment through the Government’s Cultural Development Fund, and the Capital Investment Programme run by Arts Council England. In addition, Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants programme is open to theatres where project costs are less than £100,000, and can be used to cover capital costs.